Made Whole
by MoonyAngel7
Summary: Stuck in a rut and only 32, San Francisco CSI Alex Cook needs a change. She's just closed the case of a lifetime. Putting the Bedroom Bandit a notorious serial killer in his own grave. Looking for something new Alex transfers to Vegas. Not really knowing where life is taking him Nick is lost, but quickly is found when Alex arrives. It takes two halves to make a whole.
1. The Change

A/N: I'm Back! Working on finishing my other fics also. So you guys know I left to do NaNoWriMo and I finished in only 11 days. I wrote a novel titled 'Decadence & Danger' and it will be released for purchase in February of 2016. Until then I wanted to get back to my roots and back to fan fiction.

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER ONE

 _ALEX_

"Alex!, Alex! ALEXANDRA!" a voice shouted. To me it started out fait, but suddenly I was shaken from my trance and I turned around sharply to look right at my supervisor who stood there looking at me with a look of distain yet sympathy.

"Yeah…sorry." I said quickly.

"Come to my office please." He said. I nodded. I quickly stood from my desk and followed him into a small office. "Close the door." He instructed and I closed the door behind me. He motioned for me to take a seat and I sat. He just stat there for a minute looking at me; I could tell he was trying to find his words. It seems a lot of people these days had to find a minute to find their words with me. I don't know if they were trying to not hurt my feelings or trying to not piss me off. Either way I don't think I would have either of those reactions.

"So Alex…" he then started. "You've been… a little distant, preoccupied, and just not motivated lately. I get it. You just solved the case of a lifetime. You pretty much single handedly caught a serial killer. You kicked ass and I think you spent so much time dedicated to that case that you lost yourself." I nodded. I agreed with ever word he said. "I think you need a change of scenery."

"You want me to take a vacation?" I then questioned.

"Not exactly." He said as he pulled a piece of paper from a folder. It was a letter. He handed it to me and I started to read it. I realized it was a glowing recommendation from him about me. I looked confused. "A position is open at the Crime Lab in Las Vegas. I personally think you'd be great down there."

"At the best lab in the country?" I questioned. I was shocked.

"You'd be the best at the best lab in the country. I personally think it would be a great move for you. Plus you need it. Around here you are becoming furniture. I think you will be challenged more and you just need to get out of San Francisco. We will survive without you." He explained giving me a smile. "Think about it." He then said.

"I'll think about it." I answered.

I was exhausted, but it was good to be out. I loved the feel of the city around me. I stood at the bar at the Parc55 Hotel. I sipped on a Ginger Ale when I saw a familiar figure enter the bar and start towards me. I was greeted with the smiling face of my best friend, Simone. She was everything I wasn't. She was skinny and tall, an everyday supermodel. Her perfect hair flowed down her back as she wore a backless slinky dress. Here I was looking frumpy and dumpy in a t-shirt and dark jeans. My curly hair pulled into a low bun, as I was too lazy to really do something to my hair.

"Hey girl." She said happily as she came to me and stood at the bar. I could feel all of the eyes in the room on us as they checked her out. This was usual everywhere we went.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.

"Vodka Cranberry." She said sweetly before turning back to me. "So tell me are you going to take it?" She was referring to the job. I'd been two weeks since my supervisor had told me about it and going against my better judgment I'd applied and actually been offered the job. The bartender sat Simone's drink in front of her; She took a sip waiting for my answer.

"I think so." I then answered. I'd spent the last couple days thinking about it and it would be nice to get out of San Francisco. I'd been here my whole life and this place had started to haunt me. So much had happened to me here. I was starting to think that I really was ready to move on. I was scared out of my mind though. This would be a completely new experience and I'd be starting over. I wouldn't have any friends nor any family close. I was going to be putting myself completely outside of my comfort zone. Truthfully I'd never done that ever in my life.

"Congrats girlie!" Simone said happily as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm scared." I then said looking at my best friend.

"That's the best part. Being scared out of your mind and going somewhere new." Simone said.

"Ugh you are so brave…unlike me." I said sipping my soda.

"Me brave?" she questioned laughing hysterically. "You're the brave one. You fucking took down a serial killer and nearly all by yourself and you carry a gun. You are for sure more brave than me."

"Yeah, but I do my job. You take on adventure like it's no one's business. I mean you just came back from touring Asia practically by yourself. That is some bravery I could never face." I said to her. I was so afraid to leave my own little bubble and there was my best friend who could take on the world like no one's business.

"Alex, you've got this and you will be great. I know you." She said giving me a kind smile. I sighed.

"I guess you're right." I said.

"I know I'm right." She said happily. "I'm going to miss my bestie though, but now I have the best excuse ever to go to Vegas." She said giving me a huge smile. I laughed. This was going to be huge and such a change for me. Maybe I would find whatever would make me whole again.

"It's going to be so different." I said with a shrug.

"Different isn't always bad. Plus you might be some cute guys. New guys and not the same old ones who frequent around here." She said. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I had thought about it. I thought about meeting a new guy. Someone different from the guys I'd dated before. I wanted someone who could seep me off my feet in the best way. I wanted that unexplainable and instant connection. I wanted to fall in love. I knew it had to be possible and that he was out there somewhere, I just knew it.

 _NICK_

Coming home I opened the door to my empty house. It seemed to be the same every single day. It was getting monotonous and repetitive. Day after the day it seemed to be the same thing over and over. Then I would come home to an empty house. I could only hope that one day I could find that single person. That person that I would come home to who would make me feel whole again. I knew she was out there somewhere. I truthfully didn't know what I was searching for. I just knew that when I found it I was going to know. There was going to be an unshakable connection, I just knew it.

I walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer. I found myself on the couch with the TV on. I more felt like the TV was watching me rather than me watching the TV. I just needed to clear my head. There was so much clouded in there and then the thought came to me and I decided to run with it. A change of atmosphere just for the moment was what I needed.

The last few weeks were what I needed to reboot my enthusiasm and my mind. I was able to get away and be far away from Vegas. I got to spend time with the people who raised me and the people who know me so well. I know without a doubt that I could always get away and see my family. Walking into the lab I felt ready to take on the night. I was barely in the door when my cell phone beeped. I took it from my pocket and looked at it and of course it was what I expected. I sighed knowing it was surely time to get back to it.

"Hey man you're back!" said a cheerful voice that I knew. I turned to see Greg coming up to me. "How was it?"

"Hey it was great. Got to see my folks and just chill you know, but now it's back to it." I said waving my phone.

"Yeah the 419. Sara and Alex are already there." Greg said. I was confused. Who was Alex? I don't remember having a Alex around here.

"Who's Alex?" I asked.

"New CSI. Alex is awesome." He said then his phone beeped. "And I'm off too. Catch up with you later man." He then said before rushing off. I shook my head and wondered about this Alex guy. I knew the team needed a little more help and it was pretty great that we were able to find someone so fast.

Pulling up to the address I was given I was greeted by the good ole yellow crime scene tape. I grabbed my kit from the passenger seat and made my way into the house. I could hear voices coming from what seemed to be the kitchen area. I looked to see Sara standing and taking photos and there was someone else kneeling at the body next to Dave.

"Hey Nick." Sara said as she spotted me.

"Hey Sara… did you keep my spider fed?" I asked her.

"Yes I kept your spider nice and fed." Sara said shaking her head.

"Ahh so this is the owner of the spider." Came a female voice. I looked in the direction of the voice. It was coming from the person kneeled at the body next to Dave. She looked at me. I was struck at once. I hadn't expected her at all. She stood and came to me. "I would shake your hand, but…" she looked down at her blood covered glove.

"Hi…" was all I managed. I couldn't feel my breath. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. There was nothing particularly remarkable about her, but something about her in that moment just stuck me. Her skin was a shade of milk chocolate and her hair was curly and dark brown pulled into a loose ponytail. She had a kind smile and something about it was instantly genuine and perfect. She was perfect.

"I'm Alexandra Cook, but please just call me Alex." She said giving me that perfectly genuine smile.

"Umm yeah… Nick… Stokes." I spurted out. She laughed. I was making a fool of myself, but it seemed she was easy to be a fool around. She looked at me her honey brown eyes shining in the light.

"The other supervisor?" she then questioned.

"Yeah… co-supervisor." I said. She gave me a nod.

"Well we have a male DB here. He was found by the owner of the house when she returned home from work. She says she's never seen him before, but here he is dead in her house." Alex explained.

"Think I found some ID." Dave then said.

"Let me see." Alex said quickly turning and going right back to the body. I watched her as she walked. I blinked a few times trying to decide if this was a dream or not. I couldn't explain it. There was something about that moment. I felt some strange instant connection with her that I'd never experienced.

"Welcome back." A voice came. Sara was now text to me. "Good trip?" she questioned.

"Yeah the best." I answered my eyes staying on Alex.

"Earth to Nick." She said waving her hands in front of my face. I instantly was out of my trance and turned to her. She smiled.

"So a new CSI?" I questioned clearing my throat.

"Yep. Alex is great. She came from San Francisco. Apparently I'm some sort of God up there. She was so excited to meet me because she'd heard so much about me. She's the one who solved that big serial killer case they had… The Bedroom Bandit." Sara explained.

"Really?" I asked my eyes going back to Alex. "When Greg said there was a new CSI by the name of Alex I was expecting a guy."

"Nope not a guy, but pretty cool and crazy smart. This girl knows her stuff. She might even teach you a thing or two." Sara said giving me a wink. I shook my head and put my gloves on. I didn't know what it was about Alex, but I needed to know. I'd never been so intrigued by one person before. I'd never had one woman instantly just take my breath away.


	2. The Kiss

A/N: You guys remember to review. Reviews really do help keep the story moving. Do you guys like the POV moving between Alex and Nick.

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER TWO

 _ALEX_

I couldn't believe that time was moving so fast and that I was actually enjoying being in Vegas. It seemed to be the move that needed to be made. I was feeling more like myself. Though there was still something. I hadn't found that 'it' factor that I'd come here to find. I still wasn't whole. I just knew there was still a piece to my puzzle missing. I tried to shake the feeling, but it just didn't seem to want to leave.

I walked around the perimeter of the newest crime scene looking for any evidence. I liked the new atmosphere that Vegas provided. I was still getting to know the city and I liked the vibe so far. It was a pretty warm night, something I wasn't used to from working in San Francisco. I dusted a windowsill for fingerprints. I then heard footsteps and I quickly jumped flashing my flashlight in the direction of the footsteps. I was greeted with that now familiar kind smile that made my heart skip.

"Sorry to come up on you like that." Nick said as he made it to where I was. I relaxed a bit, but I could only relax so much around him. From the moment I met him I couldn't quite plate what I felt around him. "Find anything?" he asked.

"I got a print off this windowsill." I said as I handed him the print I was able to lift. His fingers brushed with mine. It was like an electric shock ran through my body. I looked at him and our eyes met. I know he felt it to and I wasn't just imagining this all in my head.

"Umm… gr…great." He started to stutter. I gave him a smile. He always seemed to be a little nervous about me, but I didn't understand why. I wasn't intimidating in anyway. I was only 5'2" and was always smiling. Smiling helped me keep a positive attitude, which could get very hard in a job like this.

"Other than that…nothing else." I said.

"Yeah nothing else we could find in the house either. Guess we should get what we found back to the lab." He said. He then cleared his throat. I looked at him. "A couple of us were going to get some drinks after shift…umm… want to come?"

"I don't drink." I then said. He looked at me with a look of shock on his face. "I'll come though. It'll be fun." I gave him a smile and he smiled back at me.

I stood at my locker. I pulled my curls from the elastic that was holding them up and together. They fell quickly down. I grabbed my purse and turned around closing my locker. I then saw that grin again. Nick was standing in the doorway his eyes studying me.

"I guess I'm ready to go." I said with a shrug.

"Well the others canceled. If you still want to go then it will just be the two of us." He said with a slight frown. I looked at him. I wanted to get to know him. He seemed like a nice guy in general and normally I didn't get to work with him much and therefore I didn't really know much about him. I wanted to know more. He captivated me in the best way.

"Well I will still go." I said sweetly.

"Since it's just the two of us maybe we can ride together?" he questioned.

"Sounds good." I said.

 _NICK_

This was the first time I was alone with her. She looked amazing tonight. I stole a glance at her as she sat in the passenger seat of my truck. Her curls just hit her shoulder that was mostly bare as she wore a plain navy blue tank top and a pair of jeans. I looked at her again and she looked at me. She gave me that smile that I loved so much. Truthfully as much as I was disappointed that everyone bailed, I was so happy that they did because I was going to be alone with her. There was something there between us and I wanted to discover it, but I obviously there was a line I couldn't cross. I was her supervisor and that is what worried me. I knew that I had to watch myself and keep things professional.

"So…" I said. I didn't know what to say. We'd spent most of the ride in silence. "Are you from San Francisco or just worked there?"

"I'm from the area." She said. "I went to college in San Francisco and then stayed around."

"Cool." I said. I'd never felt this nervous and this speechless around any girl I'd ever met. She just had this air about her and it took my breath away every single time.

We arrived at the bar. I quickly got out of the car and walked around to her side and opened the door. I gave her my hand to help her out of the truck. She was on the short side. I found that cute about her. I couldn't help, but love having her hand in mine. Every time we seemed to touch there was this energy that flowed between us. As she got out and her feet hit the ground she looked up at me and gave me a smile.

"Thanks." She said sweetly. "So this is the place." She said looking at the building. It wasn't much, but it was a great bar that we all seemed to frequent. Vegas was full of so many flashy places, but this place kept it simple and they served great drinks.

"Yeah." I answered as we started toward the door. I opened the door and she walked in. There seemed to be a lot of people hanging around this morning. I found us a table that was actually empty and I pulled out a chair for her. She sat down.

"You don't have to be such a gentleman." She said as I sat.

"Can't help it." I said as we were approached by a waitress.

"Hey Nick." The waitress said happily. We came to this place a lot and everyone knew us CSIs and we knew all of them who worked here.

"Hey Alyssa. I'll get my usual beer." I said to her.

"Alright and for you?" Alyssa said looking to Alex.

"Can I get a coke?" Alex asked.

"Coke it is." Alyssa said as she walked away.

"So you really don't drink?" I asked Alex. She simply shook her head. "If you don't mind can I ask why?"

"I hate the taste of the stuff. I simply cannot stand the taste of alcohol." She said sticking out her tongue.

She was cute. I couldn't help, but smile at her because of that fact. I'd thought about her so much since that first day we met. She seemed to always be on my mind at any time of the day. I just couldn't shake her and it was getting difficult. I felt like when I was around her I couldn't function right. I caught myself stuttering so many times around her. Sara had even caught on. I tried to deflect it, but she knew that something was off. I ended up confessing that I had slight feelings towards Alex. She is the one who suggested that I invite her out with everyone tonight…I now realized she might have been the one to get everyone to cancel… she planned this. I then started to laugh.

"What?" Alex asked as our drinks were set on the table in front of us. Alex sipped at her coke.

"Sorry… nothing. I Just realized something." I said before drinking a bit of beer. I was surely going to need this drink to relax. I needed to relax, but breathing was hard with such a beautiful girl sitting in front of me.

 _ALEX_

This was nice. I liked being out with him and talking to him. In the last couple hours sitting in this bar I'd learned so much about him. I now knew where his accent was from he was from Texas. I told him about how I'd been once visiting my aunt and uncle whom it turns out live in the same city he's from. I also learned that he was one of seven children while I on the other hand was an only child. He was funny too and I was laughing so much. I felt like I liked him now even more than I had. It was strange though because he was my supervisor I didn't want to be too forward especially since I wasn't the forward type of girl, but I couldn't help it with him. I was drawn to him and I had been since the day we met.

I sat across from him at the table. He smiled at me as he sipped on a coke. He'd switched to coke after his 3rd beer. Being me I switched to Ginger Ale after my second coke. I then heard the song change. The new song was one of my current favorites.

"I love this song." I said happily.

"Then let's dance." He said. I simply laughed.

"I don't dance." I said at once.

"You do night." He said giving me a wink. He stood and came to my side of the table. He took me by the hand and pulled me to the dance floor. He was a terrible dancer, but so was I so it didn't matter.

We danced together. It was fun. I hadn't had this much fun since I moved her and it was a nice change of pace, having fun. I laughed at our terrible dance moves and suddenly the song changed again. It was a much slower tune. I was out of breath, but he pulled me close. His hands were on my waist and my arms went around his neck. I looked up at him. I gave me a smile as we danced slowly together. Both of us were out of breath from dancing to the previous song. I bit my lip out of nervousness. I loved feeling his arms around me. He was so strong and I loved feeling his strong arm holding me. I was dizzy with feelings and emotions. I knew what I wanted to do, but at the same time I knew it was so unlike me. I wasn't that girl, but then I thought of Simone and how she always told me I would let the best and most important moments pass me by.

I held my breath. I tried to talk myself out of it, but Simone's voice echoed in my head. I looked at him. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't place, but I liked it and I felt like there was something in the way he looked at me. I was so afraid, but I was going to jump and there was no looking back. I stood on the tips of my toes and I placed my lips on his. I closed my eyes and then I realized something. He wasn't pushing me away and in fact he was kissing me back. His arms tightened around me as we stood there. My heart was pounding and I could feel his pounding as well. It wasn't what I expected, but it was what I wanted. We both broke away and just looked at one another. He gave me a smile and his smile said it all.

"I wasn't expecting that." He then said. "I wanted to, but I was afraid. I mean I couldn't. I'm your supervisor and for me I couldn't cross-." I didn't want him to finish. I quickly kissed him again. I was shocked with myself because I wasn't this girl. I was normally timid Alex who never took any huge risks and this risk was a huge one. I then broke away.

"Alex." He then said in barely a whisper. I was breathing hard. I didn't want to say anything and I knew he was finding his words.

"I'm sorry." I then said quickly as I slipped out of his arms. I walked back to our table and quickly drowned down the rest of my Ginger Ale. He was then right next to me.

"Should we go?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said softly. I felt like I'd made such a huge mistake, but at the same time it felt so good.

He drove me back to my car at work. We barely said a word to one another. I hated leaving him. I didn't know what to say or not to say. It was true he was my supervisor and I should have never kissed him. That was a huge mistake on my part. I could only hope that I wouldn't be punished in some way for doing so.

 _NICK_

Two weeks had passed and it seemed that Alex and I were avoiding one another at all cost. Her kiss had surprised me, but I wanted it. It was strange, but in that moment that we stood there together having that kiss it was like I felt whole in that moment. I wanted to really talk to her about it, but with work there never seemed to be a right time and she was avoiding me. The shift was over and I spotted her in the parking lot walking towards her car. There was no one around and I knew this would be the best time to really talk to her.

"Alex!" I called out. I watched her turn around and look at me. She gave me a wave and I jogged over to her. "Hey." I said as I approached her.

"Hey." She said as she leaned against her car. She seemed like she was trying too hard to be casual when we both knew there was something we needed to discuss.

"I wanted to talk about… you know… that night." I said. I was being weird and awkward too. I didn't want to say it out loud. I hadn't told anyone not even Sara who knew that I had something for Alex.

"Yeah." She said biting her lip. I loved when she did that. She then looked at me, but avoided my eyes. "I'm sorry I did that. I know it was so unprofessional of me. I should have never done it."

"Actually… I liked it. I strangely felt something that I'd never felt before. It was nice for me." I said to her. She looked me directly in the eyes. I gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled and I slowly walked to her. I placed a hand on her waist and the other on her cheek. There was that electric feeling again. "Can we do it again?" I asked.

"Yes." She whispered. I put my lips on hers. They were just as soft as I remembered.

There was that feeling again; that feeling of being whole. It was like I'd finally found the missing piece to a puzzle that'd been incomplete for a very long time. I parted her lips slightly and I slipped my tongue in her mouth. She let out a slight moan. It was music to my ears. I held her waist a little tighter and the hand on her cheek had moved into her hair. We were both into it and it felt amazing. Then there was the sound of a clearing throat. We both quickly pulled away from one another and looked towards the sound. Sara stood giving us both a smile.

"See you guys later." She said coyly. I shook my head as she walked to her car leaving Alex and I standing out of breath. I turned to Alex and smiled.

"I can't explain it." I started.

"You feel it to?" she then asked.

"A completeness?" I questioned.

"When together?" She said. I simply nodded. She gave me a smile. I quickly put my lips back to hers, but just for a moment.

"I don't know how, but I want to explore this." I said to her.

"Me too." She said giving me a smile. I laced my fingers with hers and pulled her hand to my lips. I gave her hand a small kiss. This was something. We were sort of something. I liked this. I knew it was risky, but I knew it had to be real because we both felt it.


	3. The Date

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER THREE

 _NICK_

I sat at my desk finishing up a few things. I was only halfway through the shift. I glanced up at the clock. I hadn't seen Alex at all. She was off at a scene when I arrived. I wanted to talk to her. She and I had talked about going on an actual date. I'd finally planned everything out including make sure we were both off on the same night. This was going to my first date in awhile. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was excited. Alex was a sweet girl and we seemed to get along great. A few days had passed since that day in the parking lot and we hadn't gotten much of a chance to really talk and get to know each other more. I was hoping we could do that with this date. There was a knock on the office door. I looked to see Sara standing in the door. She came over to my desk and sat down.

"So where are the two of you going to go?" Sara asked looking at me. She was the only one who knew about Alex and I.

"The last I spoke with her I asked her what her favorite kind of food was. She said Asian food. I decided to make reservations at the Sushi place at The Luxor." I said as I closed the folder I had open on my desk. "I hope she likes it."

"I'm sure she will." Sara said. "So just dinner?" she questioned.

"I had another idea, but I am still working out the logistics of it." I said with a grin. I had a whole idea in mind and I only hoped it could all come together.

"Woah there are logistics involved… this sounds good." Sara said clapping her hands together.

"It should be good. I think she'll like it." I said feeling proud of myself for coming up with such an idea. I then looked at Sara. She frowned seeing that concern was on my face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just nervous." I then admitted.

"Really? Why?" she asked.

"First I'm afraid of screwing this up. There is something there and I feel it, but I would hate to screw it up. Then I'm afraid of the age difference. I know it's stupid, but she and I are some years apart. I feel like people might think it's weird you know. I'm older than her and all." I explained feeling stupid as I said it all out loud. Sara then started to laugh. I looked at her confused to why she was laughing at my concerns.

"You won't screw it up. I've seen the way she looks at you. You guys have something there and it will be hard for either of you to screw it up. Then who cares about the age difference? She's in her early 30s and you're in your late 30s. That's not too bad. Look at me and Grissom. We've got a difference. It doesn't matter. It seriously doesn't." She said. I instantly felt better hearing it from someone else and not swirling around in my mind.

"Thanks. It sounds so much more plausible coming from your mouth." I said giving her a smile. I was glad I had someone to talk to about this. I was still worried about getting in any trouble over being her supervisor. I figured we would get there when we got there. It was too late to stop the train now.

There was a knock at the door. It was Catherine standing in the door with a sheet of paper. I only wished it wasn't more paperwork for me to do. I was over paperwork at this point. I could see why she needed me because it seemed as it more and more paperwork was building up each day.

"Hey." I said simply to Catherine.

"Hey Nicky I've got a question." She started.

"Shoot." I said.

"I saw you changed the schedule a bit. You were working on Saturday and now I've got you off for Saturday. Any reason for the changes?" she asked.

"Yeah sorry. I should have cleared it with you. I switched a day with Greg. I really need Saturday." I said trying to be casual when I was really anxious. I'd moved some days around so Alex and I were off on the same night.

"It's cool. Just wondering. Anything special on Saturday?" Catherine then asked.

"Yeah he's got a big date." Sara then said. My head quickly turned to her and I shot her a look.

"A date?" Catherine then questioned. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"She's a girl… A nice girl and I wanted to take her out." I said trying to not give anything away. Catherine then turned to Sara.

"Do you know who she is?" Catherine asked Sara.

"I do know. She is a nice girl and I think they are cute together. I think he deserves this and she'll make him happy." Sara said. I was grateful that she didn't spew it out. "It's Alex by the way… the girl." My hand instantly went to my face. She just had to tell.

"Alex? Really?" Catherine questioned. "Well then Congrats. I think the two of you would make a nice couple. She's sweet and good at what she does. Just be careful and keep it discreet. We don't need Ecklie breathing down our necks with another supervisor and employee romance."

"Will do." I said feeling a bit better about things. I was happy Catherine approved. She was like a big sister to me and her approval meant a lot to me. Suddenly there was the sounds of cell phones beeping. Both Sara and Catherine looked at their phones.

"Well gotta go. Good luck on Saturday." Catherine said as she quickly walked out.

"Yeah you'll have to tell me all about it." Sara said as she hopped up from the chair she was sitting in and left my office. I pulled out my own phone and sent a quick message to Alex to meet me at my car when the shift was over.

I sat in the driver's seat of my car constantly checking the rearview mirror. I was waiting for Alex. She'd texted that she would meet me. I then saw a familiar short figure coming towards my truck. She looked exhausted, but beautiful. She gave me a wave before she opened the door and hopped in the passenger side.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey. You kind of smell." I mentioned.

"Well I spent most of my shift in dumpsters so that could be why." She said with a frown.

"Sounds like fun." I said.

"Yeah it actually was in a weird way." She said with a laugh. I smiled. I loved the sound of her laugh. She always seemed to smile and was always cheerful no matter what. I liked that about her and I knew I needed that in my life. I leaned towards her. She leaned in as well and our lips touched. We then broke apart and just looked at one another.

"I got both of us off on Saturday. So we can finally do that date." I said. She smiled. "I was thinking I could pick you up around 8 or so."

"Sounds good to me." She said sweetly. "Umm I should go though. I am dying for a shower."

"Yeah go do that. I'll see you." I said to her. She quickly pressed her lips to mine before she quickly got out of the car. She gave me a quick wave and then she was gone. I watched her walk down to where her car was parked. I hadn't felt like this in a long time and it felt good.

 _ALEX_

I only hoped I was underdressed as I sat in my living room wearing a stripped teal and black tank dress with a pair of black tights and black strappy heels. I was so nervous. This was going to be our first real date. I knew I liked him a lot and I knew he felt the same. I truthfully didn't know why I was nervous. Maybe it was because every time I was around him my heart would skip a beat and my hands would get all sweaty. He was everything, but also so much more. I couldn't properly describe it and I was normally so good with words. My doorbell rang and I practically jumped. I picked up my purse from end table and walked to the door. I opened the door and there Nick was. I was glad I wasn't over dressed as he stood there in jean and a tight black t-shirt.

"Hey you… you… look fantastic." He stuttered. I couldn't help, but smile. It was amazing to me how such a seemingly confident man could suddenly get so nervous around little ole me. I was just me and I didn't feel like I was anything special at all. Just Alex.

"Thanks. I'm ready." I said feeling the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

"Great. Let's go." He said. I gave him my hand as I closed the door behind me. We walked hand in hand down the stairs and down to the parking lot. I didn't see his truck anywhere. I was confused instantly. "We aren't in my truck. I borrowed my friend's." he said as he led me over to a red pickup truck.

"Oh." I said as he walked me to the passenger side. He went to open the door, but then he seemed to pause. I just looked at him. He unexpectedly pulled me to him by the waist. His lips were quickly on mine. My arms went around his neck as he pulled me as close as possible. I parted my lips and his tongue went in my mouth. We hadn't even left the parking lot and this date was starting off great. My back was quickly against the door of the truck. We stood in the middle of the parking lot in a passionate embrace. He had the strangest effect over me. I couldn't help, but want more and more with each passing second. He then broke away; I was out of breath.

"We should go. I have reservations." He said. It was obvious he was also out of breath.

"Yeah." I breathed out. He opened the door for me and I he helped me inside. I put on my seatbelt and watched him walk around to the driver's side. He got inside and we were off.

Sitting at the restaurant I sipped on a soda. I loved that he brought me to a sushi place. I'd told him that my favorite type of food was Asian food and he'd obviously paid attention to me. I used my chopsticks and ate my last shrimp roll. He was across the table from me struggling with his chopsticks. I giggled and he looked at me.

"Here let me show you." I said as I placed my hand on his and putting his fingers in the correct position. I then kept my hand on his as I helped him pick up a California Roll. He gave me a grin as he did so. I let go of his hand, as he was able to successfully eat a roll with his chopsticks. "See it's not too hard." I said sweetly.

"So Alex…" he started. "How did you get into forensics?"

"The Bedroom Bandit." I answered truthfully.

"The serial killer you took down?" he questioned.

"Yep." I answered. "I was in college and my good friend and roommate was killed by him. I was pre-med at the time and at a late night study group. I found her body. I remember watching the CSIs process the scene and I remember those months passing with no leads. I know I needed to help find her killer. I changed my major and I became a CSI. I then started connecting other cases with hers and we realized it was the same guy. It took me a few years, but we found him and I shot the bullet that brought him down."

"I wasn't expecting that story." He said looking at me intensely.

"It wasn't that I caught a notorious serial killer that was the highlight of my career. It was the fact that I got to bring down the guy who killed my friend." I said giving him a weak smile. "So happier things… There is this concert next week that I was getting tickets to. Would you like to come with me? I'm only going because one of my favorite bands is going to be there and I missed them the last time they were in San Francisco."

"Sure I'll come. What's the band?" he asked.

"They are an indie band called The Good Cheer. I love them so much. I'll have to make you a playlist." I said happily. He took my hand into his. The two of us sat in silence.

"Check please." He said to the waitress that was passing by. She gave him a nod in response.

He told me there was more to come. I just went along for the ride. I noticed we were getting further and further outside of the city. We kept driving until there weren't any city lights to be seen. Nick pulled down a dirt road and drove for a bit before coming to a stop. I turned to him and he gave me a grin. I was intrigued to why we were in the middle of nowhere. He was a CSI and he knew the land well. Maybe he was going to murder me and leave my body out here to rot in the middle of nowhere, but truthfully I trusted him and I felt that he had something nice in store.

"This is why I needed my friend's truck." He said before getting out. I got out of my side and walked around to the back where he was. He opened the back of the pickup and he started unfolding a bunch of folded up blankets and setting out pillows. He then reached down for me. I took his hand and he helped me up. He then pulled me into his lap and we sat there in the bed of the truck. "Look up." He whispered in my ear, his lips brushing against my ear.

I can't remember seeing the stars to clearly. The stars seemed to bright and the sky was so clear. I now understood why he drove out of Vegas. This was perfect. I turned to him and gave him a smile.

"I remembered a conversation in passing about how you were the president of your High School Astronomy Club." He said. I simply couldn't believe it. I don't think I'd ever gone on such a thoughtful date. He'd taken something I said in passing to heart. Everything about tonight was perfect and there were no faults.

"Thank you. I love this." I said looking back up. I could see absolutely everything and it was amazing.

"There is a meteor shower tonight. It is supposed to peak about 1am. I knew you'd want a front row seat." He said.

"There is. I'd forgotten all about it. I was so excited about our date." I said as he laced his fingers with mine. I couldn't believe how anyone could be this thoughtful.

We sat together looking at the stars. His arms held me close as we watched and I started to spot a few meteors. There was a nice bright one. I closed my eyes for a moment and made a wish. I opened my eyes and saw him looking at me.

"What'd you wish?" he then asked me.

"I can't tell you then it won't come true." I said.

"Well I made a wish. I wished this night would never end." He said as he took one of my curls in his fingers and twirled it around. I smiled because I'd wished the exact same thing. "You know I can't explain this and it annoys me. From the moment I met you I was struck by something. I took one look at you and I was taken. I'd never had that happen before. It kind of scared me. I've been feeling out of it for a while. I just felt like there was more out there for me. I took a few weeks off and went home to reboot. I came back and here you were and from that first kiss I felt like that missing puzzle piece had been found." My heart was beating quickly. I couldn't believe what I was hearing because that was exactly how I'd been feeling.

"You're going to think this is crazy, but I'd been feeling the same way. I just felt incomplete. I moved to Vegas in hopes of filling that void I had. Then that first kiss. That kiss changed everything for me. I felt like I was Made…" I went to finish.

"Made whole." He then said. I just nodded. He gave me a grin. There was no doubt that this was some strange twist of fate. His lips then pressed to mine. I my breath was caught in my chest. I wanted every moment of this and more. He lied me down slowly. One of his hands slid behind me and held my body close to his as we kissed under the stars.

 _NICK_

I opened my eyes. The sunlight quickly stung my eyes. I closed them. It was a little chilly and I could feel air, but I could also feel warmth and the warmth of a body. I slowly opened my eyes. I realized where I was. Alex and I must have fallen asleep back here. Her head was on my chest her curls all wild. I slid my hand down her chocolate arm. She started to stir.

"Mmm." She said. Her head then moved to where she was looking up at me. "We fell asleep?" she questioned. I nodded. She stretched slightly. I bent and kissed her gently. She smiled against my lips. I could wake up like this everyday if I could. It was nice to just lie here in the middle of the desert and to hold her in my arms.

"We should get headed back." I then said.

"I guess." She said with a shrug. I knew she was feeling the same way I was. "Thank you for last night." She then said.

"No problem." I said as I continued to hold her close to me. I didn't want to let her go. "So Alex…" I started.

"Yes." She answered looking up at me.

"I guess it's safe to say that we are together?" I questioned. She nodded in response with a smile. "Well a couple people at the lab know about it."

"I know Sara knows. Who else?" she asked.

"Catherine also knows. She's cool with it as long as we keep it on the quiet side. Ecklie will be a pain in the ass if word gets out." I explained to her.

"Yeah no problem." She said before then kissing me. I couldn't get enough of her lips.

"So now I think I'm going to take my… _girlfriend_ … for breakfast." I said giving her a grin.

"Sounds perfect… _boyfriend_." She said as she sat up. This was going to be something and I knew it was going to be something great. I just knew it.


	4. The Call

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER FOUR

 _ALEX_

I stood in the desert over a body that was missing both arms. This was going to be an interesting day. I would rather be out in the desert in the arms of my boyfriend than to be standing over an armless body. I snapped some photos while a black SUV pulled up right next to mine. I looked over a smiled at the figure getting out. Nick walked my way. I wanted to kiss him, but we were working. He barely touched my arm, but I knew what it meant. We were trying to be careful and trying to keep our relationship as quiet as possible.

"What do we have here?" he asked me.

"Armless body. Female. Been out here maybe 2 days." I said as I watched him bend down next to Ray who was already at the body.

"The tool marks suggested something with a rough edge. Wasn't a smooth cut at all. The bone is even jagged. This wasn't professional." Ray said.

"I'm going to send off the images I've got so far." I said as I walked over to the SUV I'd arrived in and opened the trunk. I opened up the laptop in the truck and connected my camera. Moments later while I waited for the photos to upload Nick was standing next to me.

"I missed you." He said quietly.

"It's been busy." I said looking down at the computer. I felt his fingers on my arm. I looked at him and gave him a smile.

"Too busy. I was thinking tonight we could see a movie or something." He said.

"Sounds good." I said as I finished uploading the photos.

It was so hard to work together sometimes. A few weeks had passed and we were doing a good job at keeping our relationship quiet. Most times I was on different cases, but every now and then like today we were working together. There was so much we couldn't say and he couldn't do. There was this really awkward fine line that we seemed to straddle. We didn't want to be too standoff with one another, but we didn't want to be too close with one another. It was hard to find the balance that wouldn't lead to some suspicion.

I walked into the DNA lab. I was hoping Wendy had some results for me and I had a few more things to drop off. I walked in to find Nick there. He gave me a smile as I entered. He was already working on another case while I was still working on my armless woman. I loved the way he looked just standing there. I felt like the luckiest girl because he wasn't just an incredibly nice guy, but he was very hot. He stood there in a grey T-shirt that was just tight enough and showed off everything and his pants were at the perfect about of tightness showing off his butt in the perfect light. I had to blink a couple times because I felt like this couldn't be real. He couldn't be real, but he was and he was mine.

"Alex… hey." He said to me.

"Hey." I said trying to seem casual when truthfully I wanted him to rip his clothes off, but that would be unprofessional and we weren't there yet. We'd spent the last few weeks just hanging out when we could and getting to know one another. I liked that he didn't seem to pressure me into being more intimate. It made or relationship relaxing in that I knew he wasn't after something else, but truly was trying to know me before we got to that point.

"Well um… thanks Wendy… Alex… I'll see you." He said. His hand barely bushed my arm as he exited. I felt like I was holding my breath as I felt the last of the electric sparks leave my body.

"So do you have results for me?" I then asked Wendy after taking a breath.

"I do, but first you have to tell me what is going on with you and Nick." She said as she starred me down.

"Nothing." I said at once.

"Come on… nothing?" she questioned. "I just saw the way you two looked at each other and then there was the other night when you came out for drinks with Mandy and I. I saw his name on your screen while you texted and when your phone rang it was his name before you ran out to take the call. So tell me."

I let out a sigh. She was good and obviously we needed to try harder to not seem so obvious. "You can't tell anyone." I said in a hushed voice. "He and I are kind of a thing."

"Seriously?" she questioned clapping her hands together.

"Shhhh." I said at once trying to hush her. "We're keeping it low key and we don't need word getting out around here."

"I promise I won't tell anyone." She said at once. "But that's great and you two look great together. I knew something was up. He seems happier."

"Who seems happier?" came a voice. I turned to see Hodges in the doorway. I rolled my eyes.

"Nobody." Wendy said quickly. "Here are your results." She said handing me a paper.

"Plus I need to drop these off." I said handing her a couple vials.

"Who seems happier?" Hodges then asked.

"No one." I said at once. "Thanks Wendy." I said before quickly leaving. This was for sure getting much harder.

 _NICK_

It was so hard to work around Alex now. There was such a tension that hung around us when together. I loved to be around her, but to be around her and not be able to show any affection took a lot of will power. She is beautiful and amazing. The last few weeks with her had been great. She was so smart and there was just that factor about her that drew her to me. I loved spending time with her and just being around her. I wanted her in every way possible though we'd stayed clear of having sex. I liked that we hadn't though. I'd never been in a relationship in my adult like this long where we hadn't already had sex. It was nice to really get to know one another, but it was getting more difficult as the sexual tension seemed to keep rising.

Sitting at my desk I was finishing a few things. I couldn't wait to see Alex later on. I'd looked up movie times and I was ready to take her out. I heard a knock on the doorframe and looked up to see Ray standing there.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"No come on in Ray." I said to him. He walked in and sat down. "What's up man?"

"I know it's none of my business, but I've noticed a little something between you and Alex. Not trying to pry or anything, but you do seem much happier." Ray then said. I was shocked, but pleased. I was happy that others saw a change in me because I'd felt it in myself. Being with Alex had given me a new perspective on things. I remembered last week when I went with her to the concert she wanted to go to. She was so joyful and so happy. She just kept dancing and was so content and in her own world. She was who I aspired to be and her taste in music didn't suck either.

"We're doing a bad job at keeping it quiet?" I questioned.

"Well it is hard to keep something like that a secret in a building full of trained observers." Ray said with a chuckle. "Plus I think you two are trying too hard. Relax more. The moment the two of you cross paths you get very tense. Try and relax. It will make things flow better."

"Will try." I then said. I then spotted Alex coming towards the office. She stopped in the doorway.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked sweetly. Our eyes seemed to connect instantly.

"Nope. I was just leaving. Have a good one." Ray said as he stood. He gave Alex a door and left the office. Alex walked in and sat down in the chair that Ray had occupied previously.

"So I looked up movie times. I'm not sure what you want to see. There is this action movie, there is this romance movie…" I was kind of keeping it general as I told her the options.

"I want to see the Star Trek movie." She then said. "What time is it playing?"

"I didn't expect that one." I then said looking at my beautiful girlfriend who sat in front of me. She was full of surprises everyday. I observed her. She wore a loose blouse that I could barely make out, but could see her curves. I would be lying if I said I didn't think about what she looked like under her clothes. I wanted to take her clothes off layer by layer and feel her warm skin against mine. I felt myself wanting her right in this moment. A pressure built in my pants. I took a breath to subdue the feelings.

"Yeah, I was into Star Trek for a minute in high school. Plus Chris Pine is smoking hot." She said. I laughed.

"So you want me to pay for you to check out some guy on a screen?" I questioned with a smirk.

"Umm yeah…" she said smirking back at me.

"Well that movie plays at 6:10, 7:50, 8:30, and 10:05." I said as I looked down at the times I'd printed out.

"8:30 is good with me." She then said as she looked down at her cell phone. "That's Wendy with results for me."

"So I'll pick you up at 7. We can get a quick bite and then catch the movie." I said.

"Sounds good." She said as she stood. She went towards the door before turning back around and facing me. "By the way. You're much hotter." She gave me a smile and then left the office.

We walked out of the theater hand in hand. I can't say if the movie was good or bad because we'd spent the entire time making-out in the back row like teenagers. There was something about her that made me feel giddy and free. Her positivity that shined through everything always helped too. We walked up the strip together just looking at the lights. In my years living here I'd been down here more times than I can count, but it all felt so new with Alex.

"So we paid $15 each for a prime make-out spot." Alex said laughing. I looked at her. Her curls bounced as she walked.

"Did you at least like the movie?" I asked her.

"What movie?" she questioned with a grin. I pulled her close and kissed her gently.

"So Ray knows about us now. Apparently we are too obvious by trying to not be obvious. He says we get too tense around one another." I said looking at her. She frowned a bit. "Don't worry Ray isn't going to tell anyone."

"Well Wendy also knows." She then said with a shrug.

"Oh God please don't let Hodges find out." I said with an exasperated sigh.

"Then we'll be turned in for sure." Alex said rolling her eyes.

 _ALEX_

I unlocked the door to my apartment. Nick was standing right there with me. Whenever we went out he always made sure I got inside of my apartment safe. I loved how careful he was with me and how much he showed he actually cared. I bit my lip as I looked at him. His hand was on my arm just touching me gently.

"Want to come in?" I asked him. We seemed to avoid really spend time at each other's places and I think we both knew why. We were having the best time getting to know one another and to be alone in this way just increased the sexual tension that had been lingering over us the past few weeks.

"Yeah sure." He said. He walked inside and I closed the door behind him. This was his first time in my apartment. He looked around and his eyes landed on one corner. It was where I kept my instruments. "You play instruments?" he asked.

"Yeah." I answered as he walked over and pressed a key on my keyboard.

"You never mentioned anything." He said at once looking at me. Truthfully I didn't really talk about it with anyone. It was a thing I did to relax and distress. I'd taught myself for the most part with exception of the piano that I took lessons for as a kid. I walked over to where he was standing next to my keyboard.

"I play to relax. Mostly just my piano and my guitar, but I also play the violin. I left my violin back home at my mom's house." I explained to him.

"That's amazing." He said. I sat down on the bench in front of my keyboard. I put my hands to the keys and started to play. I could feel his eyes on me as I played. I then started to sing. It was something I also enjoyed doing. I finished the song and he looked at me. "That was beautiful." He said.

"Thanks." I said with a shrug. "It's something I've been working on."

"You amaze me everyday." He said as he sat down next to me. "So you play, sing, and write your own stuff?"

"Pretty much. It's relaxing." I said simply. He pressed his lips to mine. We'd kissed so much this entire evening, but this was different. I could feel a fervor building inside of me. I intensified the kiss and parted my lips. Our tongues began an intimate battle. One of his hands was in my hair while the other stayed on my waist. My hand ran up his arm settling on his strong and bulging bicep. Instantly I wanted more, but I wasn't sure where his mind was.

At once he broke from the kiss and looked at me. I knew straightaway that he also wanted more. I was instantly nervous. I bit my lip. His look then turned to concern. I knew I must have been giving away my nervousness and apprehension on my face.

"We don't have to." He then said placing a hand on my cheek. I loved that he didn't want me to feel forced or coerced into it. I loved that he wanted me to lead the pace of our relationship. I'd never had this before with anyone I'd dated before.

"I want to…it's just… I don't know if you will like what you see." I then admitted. As confident as I came across I was incredibly self-conscious for a few reasons.

"Don't be silly." He said giving me a reassuring smile.

"I'm not." I said seriously. I lifted up the side of my shirt to reveal a scaly rash on my torso.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I have psoriasis. It's an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin. It's not contagious, just ugly and uncomfortable for me some days. I explained to him. He ran his hand over my exposed skin. "I've had it since I was 15. I've learned to live with it and right now it's actually quite tamed. I'm on a great medication for it and it has allowed my arms to clear so far. Normally I walk around in long sleeves no matter the time of year because it will also cover my arms, but the medicine and all the sunshine in Vegas has helped a ton." I gave him a small smile. It felt good to finally revel it to him. It'd been such a dark cloud over my love life. I've had guys who seemed fine with it and others who've just run away immediately. I'd been so afraid of scaring Nick off.

He simply pulled me to him and gave me another strong kiss. He stood and pulled me with him. I felt my knees instantly going weak with the way he kissed me. I realized he had no idea where to go. I broke the kiss and took him by the hand to lead him towards my bedroom. He slipped his other hand around my waist. We were just at my bedroom door when he pulled me to him. His lips were on my neck as he placed wispy kisses along my neckline. His hand pulled my body right up against his. I could feel his eagerness protruding through his pants and against my back. I opened the door to my bedroom and pulled slightly away from him to bring him inside.

"Sorry for the mess." I said as I looked at the pile of clothes in the corner and my bed that was unmade.

"It's ok. My house is the same." He said giving me a smile.

My heart was pounding. I stood at the foot of my bed and we just looked at one another. He came to me. I kissed him this time. I felt his hand slip under my t-shirt and slide up my side. He began to pull my shirt up. We broke the kiss to allow him to bring is over my head and off. I did the same with his shirt, but him being much taller than me he had to finish removing it on his own. My eyes instantly were on his perfectly toned chest. Was I really about to have sex with this man who was built like a god?

I unbuttoned my own jeans and slid them down my legs exposing more of my psoriasis patches. If he wanted to run, now was his chance. I stood there in my underwear. He quickly pulled me to him. His lips were once again on my neck. One of his hands held me close by my butt. I let out a moan as his lips teased at my neckline. I felt his other hand work at the clasp of my bra and he freed me at once. He slipped my bra straps from my arms. I then realized something.

"I've got condoms in the drawer." I said quickly. The box of condoms was a parting gift from Simone. I now felt like she was psychic or something and knew they would come in handy.

"Thanks." He whispered in my ear. He began to plan kisses from my ear down to my collarbone stopping every now and thing to slightly nip at my skin. Each time I would let out a gasp or a moan. I wanted him more and more with each kiss. "Lie down." He whispered gently. I did as I was told and lied down on my bed.

I watched him undo his belt and unbutton his jeans. He took them off, but kept his underwear on. He joined me on the bed. He bent down and started planting soft kisses up my legs his hands following. He seemed to pay extra attention and kissing along my psoriasis patches. I felt his fingers find the waistband of my panties as he slipped his fingers under and slid my panties down my legs and off. My breathing became quick as his kisses began to work towards my inner thighs. He spread my legs slowly. I was practically panting I was breathing so hard out of anticipation. His kisses continued until his mouth, his lips, his tongue were between my legs. I let out a gasp. My eyes were tightly shut as I gripped at my sheets. The feeling of his tongue flicking over my most sensitive area made my toes curl.

"Oh God, Nick." I groaned out. I wanted him more with each flick of his tongue.

He gave me one last lick before he started to plant kisses up my torso. His hands slipped up my body taking care at each patch, dimple, and curve. I loved the way he touched me with reverence and wanting. His lips reached one of my nipples. I let out a moan as he flick his tongue over my stiff nipple. He was so gentle with each touch as he started to plant more kisses up my body. His lips landed on mine. I slid my hands down his strong chest and made it to the waistband of his underwear. I slipped them off of him and he kicked them off. He broke the kiss and reached into the drawer of my bedside table. I could hear him digging around. I looked over to see his hand produce a condom package from the drawer. He quickly ripped the package open and put it on. I lied there looking up and him and him looking down at me.

"Alex you are everything and so much more. You're perfect." He said down to me. I could only smile at him. His lips came to mine. He spread my legs and slowly entered me. I moaned in his mouth. One of my hands went into his hair as he found a rhythm and I joined him. Both of us were now panting as we moved together. My hips arched up towards him begging for more. I couldn't remember enjoying sex this much with anyone. One of his strong arms was holding me tightly. He moved slow, but purposefully. I closed my eyes as he planted kisses along my neck while he kept me in his arms and with each perfect movement I couldn't help, but moan out his name. Swiftly the feelings inside of me shifted and I was on the threshold. At once the most intense orgasm I'd ever had took over my entire body. I was gripping at his hair with one hand and the other hand gripping at his back.

"Nick!" I was screaming out over and over again. He captured my lips with his, his movements continuing. I didn't know how much more I could take and then his body seemed to go stiff.

"Alex." He growled into my mouth.

He then lied down next to me. I turned to him as he removed the condom and disposed of it in the wastebasket next to my bed. He then pulled me close to him. His chest was sweaty, but I didn't mind. I laid my head on his check. I felt him kiss my forehead. I closed my eyes. It was so peaceful to lie here with him in the quiet. He ran fingers through some of my curls.

"Hopefully your neighbors didn't call the police with all the noise you made." He said with a small laugh. I hit him across the chest. "Imagine having to explain to officers that we probably know what was going on."

"I'd be mortified." I said at once looking up at him. He grinned down at me and quickly kissed me. I laid my head back on his chest. It was quiet again except for the sound of his heart beating in my ear.

"Have you ever performed live? Your music?" he asked. I looked up towards him.

"No way." I said at once.

"Why?" he then asked. "You're good. You should perform one day at an open mic. I think you'd be amazing." I smiled at him. He was the first person I'd ever played for and now he was encouraging me to play for the world it seemed like. I wasn't so sure about that. I planted a kiss on his chest and lied there just thinking about everything.

Morning came too quick for me. I opened my eyes to see Nick starring at me. I gave him a smile before I scooted closer to him and gave him a kiss. With that kiss all the memories of the night before came rushing back to me. I was so happy with everything. He pulled me to where I was on top of him. I could feel his morning eagerness just under me. I grinned down and kissed him once more. His hands slid up my sides and landed on my breasts. I moaned out. Then I heard a sound in the background. It had to be his cell phone because it wasn't mine. He pulled me off of him and sat me back on the bed. He got up and found his pants searching for his phone. I looked over at the clock. It was only just after 8 in the morning. I let out a yawn as I saw him find his phone. He looked at the screen confused before he seemed to answer the call.

"Hey mom it's early for you." He said smiling. It was obviously his mother on the other line. I loved seeing how his face lit up while his mother spoke. His grin quickly became a frown. He looked very concerned. I sat up as I watched him. "Yeah… ok… yeah… calm down…. I'm coming out there… going to get the next flight…see you soon." At once he was putting down his phone and grabbing his clothes. I watched him frantically start to get dressed.

"What's wrong?" I asked him at once.

"It's my dad. He's in the hospital. He was shot. I need to get down there." He said as he threw his shirt over his head. He was instantly leaving my bedroom. I jumped out of my best as fast as I could, wrapping the sheet around me. He grabbed his keys from my coffee table.

"Be careful. Call me when you get there." I said at once as he started making his way to the front door. He turned back to me and quickly came to me. He pulled me in for one final kiss before he was then out of my door.

A/N: It took me a minute to find my groove with Nick and Alex, but I think I found it and I like them now. I needed to give Alex something to bring her timid yet fun personality to the forefront. I like the idea of her having psoriasis, I also have it and so I obviously understand the mind of someone with it.


	5. The Words

A/N: Reviews please!

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER FIVE

 _ALEX_

The days seemed to pass slowly. It'd only been two days since Nick left, but it felt like forever. He'd called me as soon as he arrived and called me later that day with an update. Things were not looking good for his dad at all. Apparently he'd been shot right outside of his parent's house when he was leaving for work that morning. Nick's mom was in the shower at the time and didn't hear anything. She went out to get the newspaper and found him. All of Nick's siblings had arrived and Nick was working with the police there on the investigation into who shot his dad.

I walked into Catherine's office with some paperwork for her. I found her sitting at her desk going through a large pile of paperwork. I felt bad for bring her more paperwork. She looked up at me.

"Alex. I wanted to see you anyway." She said giving me a smile. I took a seat at the chair in front of her desk. "How did Nick seem when you last spoke to him?" she asked.

"He shockingly seemed fine." I said thinking of when I'd spoken to him earlier that night. I didn't expect him to be so calm when we spoke, but he was amazingly so calm.

"Yeah when I talked to him to." Catherine said.

"I don't know. Something about his tone at times made me think that he was more upset than he was putting on. I know things weren't going well and I don't know something about his calmness doesn't sit right with me." I explained to her.

"Well I'm going to tell you something. You haven't known him long and the two of your haven't been dating long, but the thing is when something is wrong he is good at exploding, but he is also good at hiding it and just working it away. He doesn't like others worrying about him and so you don't worry and so we don't worry he acts calm, but he's not so calm." She explained. I could completely see what she was saying. I knew he couldn't be as calm as he was letting on. "So you know he is helping out with the investigation?"

"Yeah he told me." I said.

"Well he asked if I could send an extra set of hands. One thing you learn about us is we help our own. I was going to send Sara, but I thought about it and I know right now he would love to have you around and I know you worry about him. So I'm sending you." She said. I just looked at her.

"You're sending me to Texas?" I questioned. Truthfully I was excited because I needed to see Nick. I needed to know how he really was.

"Yes your flight leaves at 8am. So you might want to go home and pack." Catherine said giving me a smile.

 _NICK_

The last few days had been absolutely insane. One second I was in bed with the most amazing girl who I was falling for with each passing moment and next I was in a plane trying to get home as fast as I could. I didn't know which direction was up or down. I was trying my best to think straight, but it was so difficult. I could possibly lose one of the most important people in my life. It made no sense at all to me. I did my best to be calm and collected when talking to Catherine or when I spoke to Alex. I could tell Alex was worrying.

I sat at my parent's kitchen table having a cup of coffee. I wasn't really sleeping at all, but sleeping was nearly impossible at the moment. I don't think anyone in the house was sleeping. My mom was at the hospital until late at night and would get back as soon as possible. I looked across the table to see my mother. She looked terrible, but nobody was going to tell her that. She was very tired and obviously very worried. The doorbell rang. My mother quickly jumped up.

"Mom I've got it." I said to her putting my hand on her arm. She gave me a weak smile and sat down. I walked into the foyer and to the front door. I expected it to be another neighbor bring yet another casserole. I opened the door and saw a face I hadn't expected at all. Alex was standing in the doorway.

"Hey." She said with a weak smile and a shrug.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" I asked her.

"Catherine sent me to help." Alex said. I couldn't help, but to pull her close to me. I just held onto her. I could feel tears escaping my eyes. I was crying into her hair. I then looked at her and pressed my lips to hers. I then break away and look at her. She takes her hand and wipes my tears away.

"I'm so glad you're here." I then said to her. I felt instant relief with her here. It was like her presence just lifted part of the black cloud that hung over me.

"I'm just glad to see you." She said sweetly giving me a quick kiss.

"Sweetie who's at the door?" came my mother's voice.

"Come on." I said as I took Alex by the hand and brought her inside of the house. I pulled her with me into the kitchen. My mother turned and looked to see us. "Mom this is Alex. She is a Vegas CSI and…" I paused for a moment giving Alex's hand a squeeze. "And my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" my mom questioned happily. She stood and came to us. She quickly pulled Alex into a hug. Alex hugged her back and gave me a smile. "So nice to meet you Alex. Sweetie I'm going to go get ready to go to the hospital."

"Alright mom. Alex and I should head down to the police department after I get her things taken up to my room." I said.

"Catherine arranged for a room for me at…" Alex started, but I pressed my lips to hers.

"Shh…you're staying with me." I then said to her. Alex simply smiled and nodded in response.

 _ALEX_

My heart was swelling with so much joy for the fact that I was able to be with him. Only a few days had passed, but I'd missed him so much. As joyful as I was I still knew we were here because of something very serious. This morning when he cried I knew things were not as routine or all right as he made them seem over the phone. His dad was in the ICU. He hadn't just been shot, but he was riddled with bullets. Whoever shot him wanted to make sure he died, but amazingly he was living. I looked over the file that I was given at the police station.

"15 bullets!" I said out loud as I read the report. I looked up at Nick who simply nodded.

"Even though he is still touch and go the doctors say it is a miracle he has even survived thus far." Nick said. I looked at him and frowned. I couldn't imagine what he was going through. I walked to where he was sitting and sat next to him. I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "I'm so glad you could be here. It's been rough on everyone, but I'm trying to be strong for my mom."

"I understand." I said to him. "So there are no leads besides the tire impressions and the shell casings and your family came up with a nice list of enemies." I said looking down at the file that I kept in my hand.

"Yeah there are literally more than you can count, but that is what happens when your dad is a state Supreme Court judge." Nick said with a shrug. My cell phone then beeped. I took it out and looked at the message.

"I don't know if you would be interested, but you remember I told you my uncle and aunt lived here also? Well I told him I was here working with you and they invited us for dinner." I said to him. "We don't have to go if you aren't up for it."

"Truthfully I'm up for it. It will be nice to be out of my parent's house and not be here or at the hospital." He said as he took my hand and squeezed it.

We pulled up to my uncle and aunt's house. I turned off my rental car and got out. Nick followed and I took his hand as we started to the front door. We were barely on the porch when the door swung open. There was my aunt with a big smile on her face. She quickly grabbed me into a big hug before she then hugged Nick.

"You must be our Alex's boyfriend." She said happily.

"Yes. Nice to meet you ma'am." Nick said kindly to my aunt.

"Come on in. George is out back with the meat." My aunt said as we walked into the house. We followed her though the house and into the backyard where my uncle was standing over a grill.

"There's my Alex!" my Uncle George said with his big booming voice. He came to me and hugged me.

"Hey Uncle George." I said to him.

"And this is the boyfriend. Nice to meet you I'm George." My uncle said extending his hand to Nick.

"Nick." Nick then said shaking my uncle's hand.

"So Tina said you are here working." My uncle said.

"Yeah. I was sent to help him out with a case." I said motioning to Nick.

"You a CSI too then?" My Uncle asked Nick.

"Yes sir. Also in Vegas, but I came down for a family emergency and I'm helping with the case." Nick explained.

"So you're a local boy then?" my uncle questioned.

"Yes sir born and raised." Nick said. I smiled. I was so happy they seemed to be getting along and clicking right away.

"Tina go and get us some beers and… a soda for Alex." My uncle said to my aunt.

"I'll come with." I said to my aunt leaving Nick with my uncle. I walked into the house following my aunt into the kitchen.

"He seems nice." My aunt said as she opened the refrigerator.

"He's very nice. He's a great guy." I said happily. My aunt handed me my soda and a beer for Nick.

"I can tell you're happy. I'm glad." She said.

We walked back outside and it obviously only took that minute we were gone for Nick and my Uncle to start a passionate conversation about football. I was happy that for just a moment he could keep his mind off everything going on. I handed him his beer and sat down next to him. He put his arm around me and held me close.

By the end of the evening we were all sitting in the house laughing and having a good time. It was quiet for just a second and I heard what sounded like a car pulling up. There was no time to react when gunshots rang out. Nick shoved me to the ground as fast as he could. He was lying on top of me as the gunfire continued. I felt like I couldn't breathe and it seemed like it lasted forever. When it was quiet there was then the sound of a car quickly fleeing. I looked to see that my uncle had been shot. Luckily it was just in his leg. My aunt was on the floor shaking like a leaf. I quickly applied pressure to my uncle's leg while Nick pulled out his cell phone to call for help.

 _NICK_

It all didn't seem real. We were having a great time and then mayhem. I sat in the waiting room with Alex who was shaking. Her dress was covered in her uncle's blood. It was very obvious that this shooting was connected to my father's case. I held Alex tightly as she sat there. She'd done well tonight and her uncle was expected to survive the wound he'd received.

"Alex." I whispered softly. She looked at me. "We should head back to my parent's house. We're going to get our things and check into the hotel for the night. Then tomorrow you are going back to Vegas."

"No I can't I need to stay." She said at once.

"Alex whoever this is…I don't need them hurting you. I love you too much to see you get hurt." I said to her. She just looked at me. I then realized I'd admitted out loud that I loved her. I knew it was true, but we were so early in our relationship I didn't want to admit it too soon, but I knew it from early on. Alex was simply amazing and the feelings I had to her were much stronger than anything I'd felt before. I knew I couldn't live without Alex.

"We can talk about it later. I just want sleep." She said looking at me. She gave me a fragile smile. I knew that she understood what I was saying and that she'd heard those three words.

We checked into the hotel and were given a room right away. Alex went in the bathroom as soon as we got into the room. I took off my shoes and my shirt and lied on the bed. I was exhausted. Alex then came from the bathroom no longer wearing her bloody dress, but in a tank top and some short shorts. Despite everything she sight of her turned me on. I suddenly felt wrong for having those feelings. Alex put a plastic bag that I knew contained her dress on top of her suitcase. She then got onto the bed with me. I pulled her close.

"I'm so sorry about your uncle. That shouldn't have happened. Whoever this is seems to have a vendetta against my family. Everyone is staying in hotels tonight. There is a police guard with my mom." I explained to Alex who nodded. She looked at me there was concern on her face. I pressed my lips gently to hers.

"I'm not leaving." She then said at once.

"Alex…please…" I said.

"I'm not. I love _you_ too much to let you deal with this alone. We're going to find out who this is and put a stop to it. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." She proclaimed. I grinned at her because she said those same three words. I pulled her to me quickly and kissed her roughly. I then broke the kiss and looked at her. She gave me a smile before putting her head on my chest. She yawned.

"Alex?" I questioned, but realized she'd fallen asleep. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over the both of us. I took one last look at her. She was everything and so much more. She was my strength in all of this, but at she encapsulated all of my fears. I couldn't dare see her hurt or worse, killed. She meant too much to me. I needed to not just keep my family safe, but I needed to keep her safe.


	6. The Shot

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER 6

 _NICK_

I watched her fall. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion. I couldn't hear anything, but my own heartbeat. I couldn't believe anything. I could only wish that this was a dream. It couldn't be real. My biggest fear had come to life and there was Alex on the ground with blood starting to pool around her body. I pointed my gun, found my target, and shot. I knew I was a good shot and I knew I could take him down. I needed to take him down. He'd tried to kill my dad and could have possibly killed Alex. I saw him fall to the ground. I ran to him and kicked his weapon away. He was surely dead. I instantly turned my attention to Alex. I ran to her and went to my knees. I could see at least three bullet holes. I grabbed her and pulled her to me. I looked down at her face.

"I've got you Alex. I've got you." I said to her. She was still breathing, but I could physically feel the life leaving her. "Stay with me Alex." I could feel the tears already escaping my eyes. I did my best to hold her tight to keep too much blood from leaving her body.

"Nick…" she whispered. I moved her hair out of her face. Could it be possible that she could look this beautiful while dying?

"Shhh don't talk. Just stay calm. You'll be ok. Just don't close your eyes." I said to her.

"I love…" she started, but her eyes started to close.

"Alex don't leave me. Alex!" I was shouting as I looked down at her. Her eyes shut fully. I held her tightly. I cried into her hair. I wasn't going to lose her. I couldn't loose her so soon. We had a whole life to live together; there was no way I was going to lose her already.

 **36 HOURS AGO**

 _ALEX_

"Oh my God stop!" I said out loud laughing as Nick continued to tickle me. We were supposed to be getting ready, but he cornered me in the hotel room. I was happy to see him smile. Since what happened at my uncle's house a few days ago he had been so serious and he made it clear he wasn't happy I was staying, but I think he'd gotten over his little tat because he was smiling as we were having a little fun. It was nice to break up all the seriousness with fun. He then pressed his lips to mine. I felt an energy rush through my body. I wanted him so bad. I craved to scream his name the way I'd done that night in my apartment.

"I love you." He whispered against my lips.

"I love you too." I whispered back. He kissed me one more time. "We should get going." I then said to him as I glanced over at the clock.

"Yeah we should." He said as he stood and walked to a chair that was near the window and picked up his shirt. He pulled his shirt over his head and on. I got off the bed and slipped on my shoes. I heard my cell phone beep. I fished my phone from my pocket and read the message.

"My mom again." I said rolling my eyes. My mom had been freaking out over the attack. She kept telling me she was going to come down and get me. Luckily my Uncle George was okay and he was already at home, but the fact that someone followed us there and decided to shoot up the house was insane. We were heading into the police department today to get results on the evidence collected from my uncle's house.

"Still threatening to come and get you?" he asked as he came to me.

"I think she might do it. She says that she has a flight tomorrow morning." I said rolling my eyes. I couldn't believe my mom was actually going to come. I looked up at him. "Guess you are going to meet my mom, but I know she will absolutely love you."

"Well you've met my mom and my siblings and they adore you." Nick said. As much as the situation pertaining our time here was terrible and gloom I really enjoyed his family and could only hope his dad was going to be okay so I could meet him too. "Let's go." He said as he took me by the hand. He laced his fingers with mine. I picked up my purse with my free hand and allowed him to lead me out of our hotel room.

I stood at a computer looking at the results. Turns out that it seemed to be the same gun that shot up my uncle's house was used in the attempted murder of Nick's dad. We were sure we were dealing with the same person. I then saw that the tire threads were the same, but the results on the type of truck were completely useless. I let out a sigh.

"So the tire treads belong to a Ford F-150. Do you know how many Ford F-150s I saw the moment I landed here. Finding a particular one has to be like finding a needle in a haystack." I said to Nick.

"Welcome to Texas my dear." He said as he walked over and stood next to me. I folded my arms and starred at the computer screen.

"Did your dad's office ever send over their collection of hate mail?" I then asked him.

"Yeah it's a lot." Nick said.

"Well that is the only place I can think to start." I said looking up at him. He gave me a nod and started towards the door. I followed him out of the room into a storage room where there were piles and piles of boxes. "All of this?" I questioned.

"All of this." He said as he grabbed a box and brought it to me. I sat down and put on a pair of gloves before I started pulling out letters.

I felt like hours had passed and I was starting to get hungry. I looked over to Nick who threw down another letter and picked up another one. Most of these letters were pretty vile and disgusting. People really had some unsettled anger and resentment and some people were just outright nuts. I read yet another one and another before I felt like I found something.

"I found something I think." I said looking at Nick who looked up at me. "This one is more of a direct threat that the others that are just either insanity or people venting their anger. This one sounds like this guy means something." I said. Nick came over to me and picked the letter from my hands.

"You dirty and lying SOB. Because of you I won't be able to see my children until they are 18 and that's only if they will even want to see me. Because of you I've lost my home and I have to work 3 jobs to barely make my child support payments. I have nothing left. I want you to suffer. I want your children to suffer. I will make you suffer if it is the last thing I do. Watch your back because you never know. Signed Vincent Trestor." Nick read. He then looked at me. "This is much more direct than the others." By this time I already had my cell phone out and I was doing a search for this guy.

"Found him. Vincent Trestor. He was involved in the case Trestor and Co v. The Family Courts of the State of Texas. Vincent lost. He and 3 others were involved. They were trying to make changes to the Family Court system stating that the court is unfair to fathers and unfair in general. Each of those involved had out of this world child support payments and claimed they were not able to see their children because of court rulings. It seems that the vote was pretty split and your dad was the deciding vote. He was expected to vote in favor of the fathers, but seemed to change his mind last moment and vote in favor of the family court. The men lost the case." I said as I read what I could find.

"Who were the other men?" Nick asked as he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper.

"Besides Trestor there is a Fred Hamilton, H.G. Yetts, and the last man is only stated as Juan Carlos, but no last name." I read.

"I'm going to see about finding these guys." Nick said as he then left me in the room.

NICK

Alex and I had worked all day. It seems we were getting places with the letter she found. Fred Hamilton had killed himself shortly after the loss of the case and H.G. also known as Harold Gerald Yetts was in jail for robbery. The only one with no information was this Juan Carlos who we still could not find a last name for. That would have to wait for now. I sat on the bed of our hotel room as I waited for Alex to get changed. We were heading to dinner with my siblings soon. Alex came from the bathroom wearing black jeans and a purple shirt that was tight enough to show off her beautiful curves. She spotted me watching her.

"What?" she questioned as she walked over to me.

"You look beautiful." I said. She smiled. I could tell she was embarrassed. Whenever I said anything about her appearance she seemed so reluctant to accept the compliment. I knew she had self-esteem issues due to her psoriasis, but personally I think her patches make her more beautiful because they define her in a strange way. She is who she is because of them and I loved who she was and I found who she was to be very attractive. I pulled her down to the bed with me and pulled her into my lap. She looked down at me.

"We're going to be late." She said before giving me a kiss.

"Then we'll be late." I whispered to her. I kissed her fully and roughly. I was pretty sure she liked it by the moan that escaped her. I could feel myself wanting her in that moment. I wanted to feel her skin against mine and I wanted to hear my name on her lips. I slipped my hand under her shirt and up towards her breast. I wanted to touch her. She quickly moved my hand away.

"I want it too, but not right now. We really will be late." She said as she motioned to the clock. She was right it was already 6:45 and the reservations were for 7.

"Later." I said giving her a grin. She smiled down at me before she moved off of me and walked to get her purse. I simply watched her for a moment before I also stood from the bed.

The night was beautiful. We all sat at a restaurant with the perfect outdoor seating area. I watched as Alex chatted away with a couple of my sisters. They got along so well and it made me happy. She seemed happy and it seemed that she was comfortable and I liked that. I noticed that it could be easy for Alex to be uncomfortable in situations sometimes, but she seemed to thrive her and thrive with my family.

"Dad needs to wake up. He will love Alex." My sister Martha said as she turned to me. I realized she was watching me watch Alex.

"He will. I know he will." I said to Martha.

"Is there really a picture of you stuck in the toilet as a kid?" Alex then asked turning to me.

"Really you guys told her about that?" I questioned looking at my other two sisters Jacqueline and Rita. I knew the first chance we got they were going to bring out all the embarrassing pictures of me to show Alex. "Yes there is." I admitted to Alex.

"I have to see that picture." She said at once. She seemed overly excited to see it.

"No…no way." I proclaimed.

"Please." Alex said to me quietly. She gave me a quick kiss and looked at me like she was a lost puppy. I laughed at her before giving her a kiss.

"Maybe." I said against her lips.

"Glad to know my little bro is getting some." Came the voice of my brother Dave who raised his beer to me.

"Always bro." I said raising my own beer.

"Eww don't do that." Martha then said at once. "I'm sure Alex does not want her sex life with or without you being discussed over dinner."

"Thank you Martha." Alex said as she shot me a look. I knew I was in trouble for that one. I was going to have to find a way to make it up to Alex.

"Sorry baby." I said softly to her as I took her hand in mine.

"We'll see how sorry you are." She said in a playful tone. I could tell she wasn't as mad as I suspected her to me. She was so easygoing it was nice to be in a relationship and be so relaxed. We'd only been together about a month, but it felt like so much longer. We had found our rhythm together and we were making beautiful music.

"I'm going to take mom home to get some things tomorrow afternoon." Rita then said.

"We might come by also. Alex's mom is coming to town." I said. I was a little nervous to meet her mom. I knew that her mom was very worried about her and wasn't too happy that she was down here and in the line of danger. I hoped her mom didn't blame me. I only wanted the same thing she wanted and that was for Alex to remain safe.

 _ALEX_

Nick and I stood in baggage claim waiting for my mom to arrive. I was so nervous about him meeting her and I could tell he was nervous too. He stood with me with his arm around my waist. I leaned onto his body. I then spotted a familiar face coming down the escalator. As soon as my mom reached the floor she came straight for me and gave me the biggest and tightest hug I think she'd ever given me. She then took a step back and looked at me before hugging me again. Once she was done with the hugging she turned her attention to Nick.

"So Alexandra…" My mom started. I was so worried about what she was going to say next. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend here?"

"Mom this is my boyfriend Nick. Nick this is my mom." I said. This was very awkward and I really didn't know what to expect.

"Ms. Cook it is a pleasure to meet you." Nick said sweetly to my mom before inviting her in for a hug. My mom then gave him a tight hug. I smiled.

"It's so nice to meet you. I've heard good things from my sister and her husband." My mom said referring to my Aunt and Uncle.

"Let me take your bag and we can get your checked bag." Nick said to my mom.

We went straight to my Aunt and Uncle's house from the airport. My aunt had been up all night cooking for my mom's arrival. This was so typical of my family. Nick and I stayed for lunch before leaving my mom with them. We went to Nick's parent's house where his sister Rita was with his mom who needed to get a few things. When we arrived Rita was on the porch.

"Hey I was going down to the stables." Rita said as she came down the stairs. She came to me and gave me a hug.

"Want to see the horses?" Nick then asked me.

"There are horses?" I then questioned.

"Yeah come on." Nick said. "Hop in Rita we will take the car." He said to his sister. We got back in the car and Nick drove us down to some horse stables on the property. I could see a couple horses running around. It was a beautiful sight. We all got out of the car and walked into the stables where a man was combing the mane of one of the horses.

"Hey JC." Rita said to the man who turned around.

"Rita, Nick." The man said as she walked over to us. He gave Rita a hug and shook Nick's hand. "And this is?" he questioned as he stopped at me.

"This is my girlfriend, Alex." Nick then said.

"JC, nice to meet you." He said to me. I shook his hand.

"Daisy is looking good." Nick said as he walked to the horse.

"I've got to see Cracker." Rita said as she walked further into the stable.

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" Nick then asked me.

"No…" I said.

"Do you want to?" he asked.

"Umm….yes." I said a little unsure.

"We will ride Daisy. She is gentle and I'll ride with you." He said. He then walked to the horse and he hopped on. I walked over a little afraid. "It's alright. She won't bite." He said to me. He reached down for my hand. I gave him my hand and he helped me up with the assistance of JC behind me. I was now sitting on the horse with Nick behind me. His arms came around me as he took the reigns.

Next thing I knew we were off. The horse was running through a field almost instantly. I could feel the wind hitting my face as we bounced. Nick kept me steady as I did my best to hold on. I couldn't believe I was riding a horse. This felt like something out of a dream. Nick then stopped the horse. We were near a fence, but on higher ground. We could see the entire property from here. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Like it?" Nick asked me.

"I love it." I said turning slightly to look at him. I gave him a sweet smile. He placed his lips on mine. Then his cell phone started to ring. He fished it from his pocket.

"It's Rita." He said. "Hey Rita. Sorry we took off. We are out with Daisy….wait…really…that's amazing…Rita? Rita? Rita?!"

"What's wrong?" I then asked him.

"She said mom called. The hospital said dad woke up. Then it seemed Rita screamed. We need to get back to the stables." He said. I hung on and he took the reigns again. We went straight for the stable. As we arrived we slowed down and I noticed something I didn't catch before. The truck that was parked there was a Ford F-150.

"Nick." I whispered. "The truck….JC… It's Juan Carlos." I said to him. Nick looked at me. He hopped from the horse and pulled me down quickly. We went to the car and both got our weapons. We slowly started into the stables. I at once saw Rita on the floor with a head wound. I took her pulse and she was alive. Nick pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey Reynolds we are going to need back up down at my family ranch. We got him for sure." He then hung up the phone and looked at me.

"JC!" Nick called out. "Or shall I call you Juan Carlos?"

"Your dad lied to me!" came JC's voice at once. I looked around trying to find where it came from. "When I told him about our case he said he would vote in our favor. He voted against us. Vincent is living out of his car because he can barely make a living with those outrageous child support payments, Fred killed himself and H.G. had to result to robbery to make his living. I'm scooping up poop for rich people like you. I haven't seen my kids in 5 years. My ex got me banned from seeing them. We just wanted to help out other dads like ourselves who were good fathers, but the family court system screwed us over. Your dad was supposed to help us. That lying SOB. Now all of you get to suffer." Shots rang out. I drove behind something. I was trying to find where they were coming from.

"JC we can just talk this through." Nick said in his sweet southern accent clearly trying to charm JC into giving himself up.

"I'm not going down." JC shouted. I came up from behind my cover and I saw him. I went to shoot, but he shot me first. The first one felt like a burning, then another, and then another. I went to the ground. I could barely breathe. It was true, my life was flashing in front of my eyes. I was dying. I could hear Nick's voice talking to me.

"Nick…" I whispered with the little breath I had as I saw his face. I could feel everything started to go fuzzy and fading towards black. "I love…"


	7. The Hospital

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER SEVEN

 _NICK_

I couldn't remember how many times I'd paced the room. I just needed to know how she was. She'd been taken into surgery right away. I was so worried it was driving me insane. My clothes were still covered in her blood, but there was no time to change. I wasn't going anywhere. I glanced over to my mom who was sitting with her mom along with her Aunt and Uncle. Our moms seemed to be getting along. I was surprised my mom stayed down here since my dad had woken up. I knew I should go to see him too, but I needed to know of Alex's status. I was so afraid I was going to lose her. When she'd gone limp in my arms it was the most frightening moment. I was sure she was dead, but amazingly she was alive and survived all the way to the hospital. My sister Rita was all right. She was patched up and set home. It'd been a long afternoon and evening for our family, but they were all going to be fine. Now I just needed Alex to be fine.

The double doors then opened. They'd done it a few times and each time I would jump in anticipation. Most times it was a random nurse, but this time it was a doctor in scrubs. He walked over to where Alex's mom was sitting. I jogged over in their direction.

"She's stable." The doctor said. "We were able to get all three bullets, but on was tricky. It was very close to her spine. We won't know if any damage was done until she wakes up."

"So she could be…?" her mom started.

"She could be paralyzed, but we won't know. She has to wake up first. She lost a lot of blood, but we've got her stable, which is a good thing. I'm sure she will make a full recovery, but we will have to wait and see about any spinal damage." The doctor said giving us all a reassuring smile.

"Can we see her soon?" I asked. I needed to see her, I just wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to feel that her body had head. I felt like I needed proof that she was alive.

"Yeah in recovery we only allow immediate family one at a time, but once she has been moved she is allowed visitors." The doctor said kindly.

"I want to see her now." Her mom proclaimed at once.

"Right this way ma'am." The doctor said as he led her mom through the double doors.

I didn't know why, but I was angry. I wanted to see her. I understood the hospital rules and all, but I just needed to see her and to feel her. It'd been hours since and I just needed to know she was okay for myself. I walked down the hall and out of the front doors of the hospital. I needed fresh air. I needed to breathe. I wanted to just hear her sweet voice. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed her number. It didn't ring because her phone was off and in a bag with her belongings. It went right to voicemail, which is what I wanted.

"Hello you've reached Alexandra Cook. I'm not available, but leave me a message at the tone and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks." Her voice said. I hung up and dialed again. I wanted to hear it again and again. I needed to hear it. It was the only thing that was going to keep me sane right now.

 _ALEX_

There was the faint sound of machines. I could hear them, but it seemed as if they were far away, but getting closer. The more I came to the louder they got. I slowly started to open my eyes. The room I was in was dim, but I knew right away I was in the hospital. I looked around to see the machines and then I saw another person in a chair next to my bed. I saw that this person was holding my hand. I looked down at their hand and right away I knew whom it was. I did my best to move my finger to wake him up. I moved my finger a few more times until he started to stir. His head rose and looking into my eyes was Nick. I gave him a weak and drowsy smile.

"Oh God Alex!" he said at once. He squeezed my hand.

"Hey you." I said weakly. I was so tired and my body seemed to hurt all over. He stood and bent to me giving me a small kiss.

"I'm so happy you're awake." He said with tears in his eyes. I lifted my hand and wiped his tears.

"Don't cry." I said in a whisper. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. I remembered getting shot. I remembered seeing Nick's face and hearing his voice. I looked at him. I could see so much fear in his eyes, but at the same time I could see the fear slowly leaving his eyes.

"I'm going to get the doctor. I'm sure they will want to know you're awake." He said as he placed my hand back on the bed with me. I watched as he exited the room. I couldn't help, but think about how grateful I was that I was alive. I was so sure I was dying. I was so sure that the moments I'd shared with Nick right before were our last moments together, but here I was.

I looked up to see the door open and Nick walk in with a doctor behind him. The doctor turned on the lights on the room. I winced for a second as my eyes adjusted to the brighter lights. The doctor then came to my bedside.

"Good morning Alexandra. I'm Doctor Bennett. I did your surgery and removed three bullets from you. Two were easy to retrieve, but one gave me a little trouble. It was very very close to your spine. I'm going to now do a couple tests to check for any spinal damage." Doctor Bennett then took the blanket on my legs and lifted it to expose my legs. I knew what he was doing and I knew he was using words so that I wouldn't freak out over the possibility of being paralyzed. He took his pen and ran it up my right leg. "Can you feel that?" he asked.

"Yes." I said. He then took his pen and ran it down the bottom of my foot. My toes curled and I wanted to laugh, but my wounds hurt. He didn't even have to ask if I felt that. I did the same with my other foot. I did my best to hold in a giggle, but it hurt to hold it in.

"So far so good." Doctor Bennett said giving me a grand smile. "Later today the nurses have been instructed to try and get you to walk a little bit. You will be sore, but it will help." I nodded in response.

"Thank you so much doctor." Nick said shaking Doctor Bennett's hand. The doctor gave me a wave and then left the room. Nick was grinning. "I was so worried."

"Well I'm good and very hungry, but I doubt I can eat for a little bit." I said with a shrug. A thought then came to my mind. "My mom?"

"She was here the whole time. She left to get some sleep." He explained.

"And your dad. How is he?" I asked him. I remember that Rita had called to say their dad had woken up.

"He is doing amazingly well. I got to see him while I waited for you to be moved to this room. He is eager to meet you." Nick explained. I smiled. It seemed that everything was good.

"And Rita?" I asked.

"She's good at home resting." Nick said. I was so relieved that everything was well. "Vincent Trestor was arrested and I killed JC."

"The nightmare is over." I then said giving him a smile. I wanted him to kiss me so bad. I think he knew it and bent down to my lips.

The hours passed quickly between resting and having visitors. I'd finally convinced Nick to go change and get a nap. His siblings had mostly all come by at points and his mother brought me a beautiful plant. For the first time since waking up I was completely alone in my room. I was still in shock that I lived, but so happy that I did. Nick had been absolutely amazing during everything and he went above and beyond. I really didn't know what I would do without him. He was simply my everything. I heard a knock at the door of my room. I looked up to see my mom entering the room. She held a large shopping bag in her arms.

"Hey mom." I said as I moved to try and sit up, but the pain was stinging through my body. I didn't know how I would handle it when the nurses were to make me walk.

"Alex baby." My mom said sitting her bag down on a chair and coming to my bedside.

"Mom I'm fine. I'm not paralyzed and I'm going to be just fine." I said to her trying to reassure you.

"I was so scared that I'd lost my only baby." She said as she held my hand.

"No you haven't. I'm here and good." I said with a weak smile.

"I'm surprised Nick isn't here." She then said.

"I made him leave. He was all bloody and he needed sleep. He didn't want to leave, but I got him to leave." I said thinking of him. I remembered the look on his face when I woke up.

"He sure loves you so." My mom then said. I smiled. There was no doubt in my mind that he loved him for sure.

"And I love him." I said to her. She rubbed my arm.

"Then I'm happy. I know that you've found someone who would go to the ends of the earth and back for you. I know he would do absolutely anything for you." She said giving me a smile. I knew it too. I'd never met any man who was so genuine and perfectly caring and so willing to look past my insecurities and faults. "So Uncle George sent over some barbeque. He figured it would be better than the hospital food." She said as she lifted the shopping bag from the chair.

"Yes please!" I said happily. I was so hungry and the meal that was brought to me earlier in the day was terrible. I was thankful to have some real food finally.

 _NICK_

I woke up alone. It was strange after waking up with Alex for the last week. She'd forced me to come back and rest. I couldn't help, but love how even though she was the one in need she still thought of everyone, but herself. I sat up and looked at the clock. I was amazed that I'd slept so long, but it had been a long night. I got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. I saw Alex's things on the counter. I only wished to be with her right now. I looked at myself before I turned and turned the shower on.

Walking into the hospital I was really starting to hate being here, but the people I cared about were here. I took the elevator up and as soon as the elevator opened I spotted Alex who was walking slowly with a nurse by her side. Alex turned to me and gave me a smile. I walked to her and gave her a quick kiss.

"You're looking good." I said to her.

"Feeling alright. Walking just hurts like a bitch, but the more I walk the easier it gets." She said as I took the nurse's place and held her. She gave me a smile. "Did you get some rest?"

"I did. Feeling better. Just happy to see you are doing better." I said to her. She then went to take a few steps and I stepped slowly with her.

"My mom came by and brought me some food from Uncle George. She also told me that she likes you." She said as she continued to walk. I looked down at her. I just wanted her to be better. I wanted to hold her tightly again. "Also the doctor said in a few days I will be able to travel and could go back to Vegas. He already spoke to a doctor at Desert Palm in Vegas to continue my treatment."

"That's good. I want to take you back home." I said to her. She looked up at me. I couldn't help how I felt. The pull towards her was so strong that there was no way of ignoring it. I knew I wanted to spend forever with her. I could only wish that I could spend forever with her.

"My cell phone has been going crazy. So many text messages from everyone at the lab." She said as we arrived at her room. We slowly made our way inside and I helped her get onto her bed. She cringed a little bit. I could tell she was in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I rubbed her back.

"I'll be fine." She said as she let out a breath. I helped her get her legs on the bed. She was tired, but trying to not show it. She then looked at me. "Will you lie with me?" she asked as she did her best to scoot and leave room in the bed for me. I took off my shoes and got onto the bed with her. I pulled the blanket over us and wrapped my arms around her. She leaned in close.

"I knew you should have gone home." I then said to her. She looked at me.

"Without me we wouldn't have gotten the case closed so fast. Yeah I got hurt, but I'm not dead. It's apart of the job. I'm used to it." She then said. I hated the fact that she was making excuses for the fact that she could have died. I hated that she even had to do so. I should have made her leave. I shouldn't have let her stay. It was on me. "And don't blame yourself." It was like she could read my mind. I looked at her.

"Alex… I don't know how I could possibly live without you." I said to her. I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. She gave me a smile. I then held her closer. She put her head on my chest and we just lied there peacefully.

 _ALEX_

I sat on my bed watching the news. Nick had gone to get me some dinner. I really didn't want to stomach any hospital food and he was willing to go out and get me something. He'd spent most of the afternoon in bed with me. It was nice to have him close to me. I knew without a doubt that I wanted to be with him and I wanted to marry him. I could only wish he wanted the same. A watched as a nurse entered my room giving me a kind smile.

"Alright Alexandra. It's time for another walk." She said. I frowned. Walking was so painful and so exhausting, but I knew the more I walked the faster I could get out of this place. I craved to sleep in my own bed again.

The nurse helped me from the bed and helped me put my robe on. She got me into the hallway and from there I wanted to try it alone. I slowly shuffled up the hall. It was getting easier to walk and I didn't feel as if I was in as much pain, but it still hurt. I walked along the hall and stopped at a room. I looked and saw the patient inside eating. I then realized who the patient was. Nick hadn't told me his dad was moved from ICU, but he apparently was and was in my floor. I got closer to the door and knocked on the doorframe. The man in the bed looked at me.

"Hello." He said looking up at me.

"Sorry to bother you." I then said. "You don't know me. My name is Alex…" I started and his eyes widened he then gave me a smile.

"Panhco's girlfriend." He then said. I remembered Nick told me that he and his dad had nicknames for one another.

"Yes." I then said.

"Come in." he said happily. I slowly made my way into his room. "I heard you took a few bullets also."

"Yes sir." I answered.

"Thank you for everything you've done with the case and thank you for being what my son needs. There was something different about him when I saw him. I can tell he's happy and he is much more complete." He said to me. I couldn't help, but smile because I felt the same way. I felt so complete with Nick in my life, it was like night and day how different things were in my life.

"No problem Judge Stokes." I said.

"Call me Bill. You are family now." He said kindly.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"I'm actually feeling good. I can't wait to get out of here and get some real food." He said with a chuckle.

"My mom and Nick have been sneaking food in for me." I said.

"Lucky girl." He said looking down at his hospital provided meal. Just then there was a knock at the door. I turned to see Nick in the doorway.

"I went to your room and figured you were on a walk. Didn't expect to find you here." Nick said to me as he walked to me and kissed me on the cheek. "I see the two of you have met."

"Yes we have. She is a very nice girl." Bill said giving me a nod. I was glad he approved.

"She's the best." Nick said putting his arm around my waist.

"Well I'm grateful that she is around and glad this mess is over." Bill said happily. "Your mother said she would be coming back soon."

"Yeah I spoke to her not long ago." Nick said as he sat down in the chair next to his dad's bed and pulled me along with him into his lap.

"Good. She said she was making peach cobbler and I cannot wait to get some." Bill said.

"Mmm Peach Cobbler, that sounds good." I said.

I was having the best time with the two of them. They were both so funny and I could see where Nick got his sense of humor. It was great to just sit there and listen to them talk and see their close relationship in person. The whole time I sat there I just thought about how much Nick meant to me and how happy I was to be with him. I couldn't wait to continue our everyday lives when we got back to Vegas. I wanted my everyday to be with him. Always. I was made whole with him.


	8. The Ring

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER EIGHT

 _ALEX_

Nick unlocked the front door to my apartment and pushed the door open. He helped me walk inside and instantly took me to the couch. I sat down and watched him bring in my things. It was nice to be back and not in the hospital though I wasn't totally healed. I watched him open the windows for air. He then came and sat with me. He looked at me and I couldn't help, but smile. My stomach did a flip. He had effect on me that I couldn't explain, but I liked it so much. I leaned to him and kissed him. His hand took me by the waist. I wanted him right this moment. I needed him. I deepened the kiss; I wanted him to know that I wanted him. He kissed me just as passionately and pulled me in tighter. I moaned feeling a warmth and dewiness growing inside of me.

"Right now?" he then asked.

"Right now." I answered. I needed this so bad. I moved to pull myself on top of him when I felt a stabbing pain rush through my body.

"Ouch." I groaned. He instantly let his grip on me loosen and he sat me down back on the couch.

"Baby are you alright?" he asked me instantly. He looked at me with so much concern on his face. I gave him a weak smile. I loved this man so much.

"I'm just a little sore." I said giving him a reassuring smile. I moved to him and kissed him again. When I tried to deepen the kiss he pulled away.

"Not now. I want you healed first." He said as he placed a hand on my face. I let out a disappointed groan. "Don't worry…it will be worth the wait." He gave me a wink and a grin. Just then there was a knock at the door. He stood from the couch and walked to the door. I watched him look out of the peephole. He then smiled and opened the door. I instantly saw Catherine who walked in followed by Sara, Greg, and Ray.

"Surprise!" Catherine said happily as she walked to me with a bouquet of flowers. Sara walked to my dining room table and put down what looked to be a box full of take-out.

"How are you feeling?" Ray asked.

"A little sore, but alright." I said.

"She needs a few weeks rest, but she will be back on her feet very soon." Nick said as he sat back down next to me. I gave him a smile. He smiled back before leaning in and kissing me.

"Wait you two are…?" Greg questioned.

"Yes they are." Catherine responded.

"Does everyone else, but me know?" Greg asked.

"Pretty much, but they are keeping it quiet… Ecklie." Sara said as she walked back in the living room and joined us.

"Damn you Nick." Greg then said.

"What for?" Nick questioned.

"I was planning on asking her out." Greg said at once.

"Aww sorry, but he got to me first." I said happily as Nick laced his fingers with mine.

"Yeah sorry man, but she's all mine…forever." Nick said looking at me for the last word. I knew what he meant by that. I felt my stomach flip and my heart swell.

"Well I'm happy for you guys." Greg then said.

"We all are." Ray said giving the two of us a smile.

"Well we better eat before the food gets cold." Catherine then said.

"Yes and I'm starving." I said.

It was nice to have visitors. I'd enjoyed my afternoon with everyone. I walked from the bathroom towards my bedroom. I stopped at the door and watched Nick. He was changing the sheets on my bed. He then turned and saw me watching him. I gave him a smile. He then continued what he was doing. When he was done he walked to me and put his arms around me.

"You didn't have to do that." I said to him.

"Of course I did. I want you to be comfortable." He said with his sweet southern accent. He then moved a strain of my hair from my face.

"Thank you for everything." I said to him truthfully. He then took me by the hand and walked me to my bed. I sat on the bed and lied down. He pulled the blanket over me. He then went to the other side and climbed in with me. He pulled me gently into his arms. I snuggled in closer. I looked up at him and she gave me a smile. "You're too good to me."

"No I think it's the other way around." He said to me. I quickly kissed him. I snuggled into his arms. He ran his hand down my arm as I closed my eyes and slowly started to drift into the best sleep.

 _NICK_

I hated being back at work only because that meant I had to be away from Alex. It'd been two weeks since we returned and she was getting much better. She was able to move more without so much pain. One good thing about being back at work was being back in the normal groove of life though without Alex it wasn't the same. I couldn't wait to get off and go to her place where I'd practically been living since we returned. I swear every time I received a message I would expect it to be her. I felt the strong need to care for her in every way that I could. I sat in the car with Catherine on the way to a location. She was driving. I turned and looked at her.

"I was so mad at your for sending Alex after she was shot." I then said. She glanced at me. I could tell she was surprised. "But then I realized how nice it was to have her there even after she was shot. She got to meet my family and it was so nice to be with everyone and have her there. My entire family loves her."

"How could they not love her?" she then asked.

"I don't know. She is so amazing. I can't help, but feel a pull to her. It just struck me from the first day I met her. I can't explain it." I said.

"Well I can tell you that before she came you seemed distant and far away. You went home to reboot, but it seemed like that didn't help until you started dating her. That seemed to turn everything around. You seem more involved and invested than you were before. It's nice to have you back, but to have you happier than ever." She said. I knew what she meant.

"You might think I'm crazy… Alex and I have only been together for nearly two months, but I want to marry her. I want her in my life always." I said. I felt crazy saying it out loud, but still I felt so strongly about it.

"Wow!" she said looking towards me for a moment as she continued to drive. "Maybe you should hold off for a moment. I mean it hasn't been two months. I know the two of you are in love, but maybe give it a little time. Let the honeymoon phase die down a bit. I can't tell you what to do, but that's just what I think."

"Thanks. I appreciate your opinion." I said to her.

"Anytime." She said flashing me a smile.

It was nice that we'd solved our case and that the shift was over. I'd sent a text message to Alex hoping she would come meet us. We'd all decided to go bowling since our latest case had to do with bowling. It was fun to get out with everyone especially after everything from the past month. We were all having a great time, but I couldn't help to glance towards the door every few moments. After bowling another strike I looked up and saw a sweet face smiling at me. I walked over to Alex who had arrived. I pulled her close into a kiss.

"Sorry I'm late." She said.

"It's fine. Come on." I said as I helped her down to where everyone was.

"Hey Alex is here!" Wendy said happily. Alex gave everyone a wave. I helped her take a seat. She winced as she sat. I could tell today was a more painful day for her. I hated to see her this way.

"Today wasn't a good one?" I asked her. She simply shook her head no. I frowned and pulled her close. I placed a kiss on her forehead. "We don't have to stay. I can take you home."

"I want to stay." She then said. She was so strong. I loved her strength, but at the same time it scared me. She gave me a smile and placed a kiss on my lips.

"You two are dating?" a voice asked. Of course we forgot Hodges was here. I looked at him.

"Yes we are… problem?" I asked in a low tone. He looked taken aback.

"No…no problem." He said before he scurried away. I wanted to laugh. Alex let out a giggle.

"Nick it's your turn again." Sara yelled out. I gave Alex a kiss before going and retrieving my ball. I could hear Alex cheering. I was already doing so well, but I felt like I was going to do much better with my lucky charm there. I went to the lane and threw my ball. Once again another strike. I was literally neck and neck with Greg.

 _ALEX_

I watched Nick in my kitchen. He was making me breakfast. I loved how sweet he was with me and how he took care of me. He came to me with a plate of breakfast. He bent and gave me a kiss as I sat at the kitchen table. I started to eat. He sat with me. Today was a good day and I had been feeling so much better and the amount of pain I was experiencing was almost at zero.

"I can't believe you guys are going to prank poor Henry like that." I said to him. "I also can't believe you guys bought a car just for the prank."

"It's his birthday. He'll have a great time." Nick then said.

"Yeah after he craps his pants." I said with a laugh.

"Exactly. It will be fun and I'll be back by tonight." He said to me.

"I see my doctor today. Hoping to get an all clear to go back to work." I said happily. I was really getting tired of being around the house all the time. I wanted to work again. I wanted to be around people again. I had the worst case of cabin fever.

"Are you still having pain?" he asked me.

"A very little bit." I answered truthfully.

"I'm so glad you're healing well." He said as he took my hand in his. I looked at him. I could tell there was something else, but he seemed so apprehensive. I looked at him.

"What's up Baby?" I asked him. He gave me a smile.

"I've been thinking about something and I want to give you something." He then said. I was a little confused. "You know I love you. I love you more than words can express. I want to spend my life with you, but I know it is also too early for us to commit to something like marriage. So I want to make you a promise. I am promising to always love you, I am promising to be here for you whenever you need, and I am promising to give you my heart and my last name when the time is right." He then pulled something from his pocket. It was a beautiful ring. It was a silver band with an infinity symbol made of diamonds looped around the band. He took my right hand and slipped it onto my ring finger.

"It's beautiful." I said looking down at it. "Thank you for it and for the promise. I love you too. So much." I said before I quickly pressed my lips to his. I simply couldn't believe that he was giving me this. He then broke the kiss and looked at his watch.

"I love to go, but I will see you tonight. I have another surprise that should arrive not long after I leave." He said to me. I was intrigued. He gave me another kiss. He then stood from his chair. "I love you."

"I love you." I said back to him. I watched him leave my apartment. I looked down at the ring. I knew I was so in love and that he was everything I could ever need always. I never wanted to live without him.

I'd been home along for about an hour when there was a knock at my door. I remember that Nick said another surprise would arrive. I slowly stood from the couch taking care that I didn't have too much pain. I walked to the door and opened it. Standing there was my best friend, Simone. She gave me a huge smile before throwing her arms around me. I couldn't believe it.

"Surprise!" she then said happily.

"You're the surprise?" I then questioned.

"Yes lady. Your man called me and said he knew that you would love to see your best friend. I got a flight and I'm here." Simone said happily as she walked into my apartment. "Your place is so cute."

"Thanks. I can't believe he did that." I said. He knew exactly how to make me happy.

"Obviously he loves you. I'm your surprise." She said. We both sat down on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better. I guess you are coming to my doctor's appointment this afternoon." I said to her as I remembered my appointment.

"Of course bestie I'm all here." She said happily. She then grabbed my right hand. "Did he give you this?"

"Yeah he did. This morning. It's a promise ring. It was so sweet. He promised to love me, to be here for me, and to give me his heart and last name when the time was right." I said as I remembered every word he said.

"Oh my goodness that is so sweet." She said happily. "I'm crazy happy for you. He seems like such a nice guy. I was surprised when he called me, but he made a good case. He really just wants you to be safe and happy."

"I know he does." I said to her. "How long are you here?"

"Until tomorrow night." She said happily. "I've got a room at the MGM. Hoping to hit up the bar tonight and maybe meet myself a cute Vegas guy." I shook my head at my best friend. I was so happy she was here.

I got restless waiting for Nick during the night. He said he was going to be back, but he hadn't come back. After Simone left to her hotel I got in bed and waited. Waiting turned into falling fast asleep. I woke up alone. I looked to the other side of the bed, but it hadn't even been disturbed. I got out of bed and went into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of juice. I really needed Nick there. My doctor's appointment hadn't gone as I hoped and I wasn't going back to work. My doctor didn't think I was healed enough. I was so disappointed and I really just wanted Nick to hold me. I knew I would at least feel a little better. I looked down at my ring. Just the sight of it made me smile. I then heard what sounded to be keys in my front door. There was Nick walking in the door and he looked terrible.

"What happened?" I asked at once as I walked over to him.

"It's a long story that starts with crashing the car, finding a body, and a lot of craziness. I'm exhausted." He said as he walked to the couch and sat down. I sat down with him. He then looked at me. I ran my hand over his face. His lip looked as if it had been busted and there was a cut above his eye. "Did you like your surprise?"

"I loved my surprise. Thank you so much." I said to him.

"How did your appointment go?" he asked me. I frowned at him. He instantly knew that it didn't go well. He pulled me close to him. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. He says no work for at least two more weeks and from there we can see. I am hoping to see after the two weeks even if I can't work normally if I can at least work in the lab. It's better than not doing anything and sitting at home." I explained to him.

"Yeah I think that might work. I'll discuss it with Catherine, but I approve." He said giving me a smile. He knew how to make me feel better.

I kissed him gently. He kissed me back. I intensified the kiss. I opened my mouth slightly allowing his tongue in. I then ran my hand under his shirt sliding my hands up his strong abs. He responded by slipping his hand under my nightgown. I felt his fingers slip under the elastic of my panties. I let out a moan in reply. He then broke the kiss and looked at me.

"Not until the doctor clears you." He said to me.

"But…" I started. He placed a finger over my lips.

"Patience." He said with a grin. We hadn't had sex at all since that first time. Since that first time I wanted it badly. I needed him badly. I knew he wanted me just as much I could see it in his eyes.

"I'm done being patient." I said at once before I pulled myself on top of him. I looked down at him and he looked up at me. I pressed my lips to his. I felt his hands running up my legs and over my butt. I broke the kiss and looked down at him. He simply shook his head no. I was starting to get really sexually frustrated with him, but I just tried to remember what he said last time, it was going to be worth the wait.


	9. The Scare

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER NINE

 _ALEX_

After a couple more weeks following my doctor's appointment it was so great to be back in the lab. I was going stir crazy at home and it didn't help that Nick was refusing to have sex with me when I clearly wanted it badly. Luckily my doctor had cleared me for more activity including working in the lab and I asked on purpose about sex and he said it should be ok as long as we stopped if I had pain. As soon as I was on my way to the lab from my appointment I sent Nick a text informing him of my good news. He simply texted me back a wink face. I could only hope that meant good things was ahead. I walked into the lab that seemed pretty empty and deserted. I dropped off my things in my locker and went to Catherine's office. There was a simple not on the door to me.

 _Alex,_

 _Out on a case. I need help with some filing and paperwork. I know lame, but your help is needed. There is a box on the chair._

 _-Catherine_

I walked into her office and there was a box waiting for me filled with folders. This wasn't the type of work I was expecting to do, but I was happy to be working again. As I sat working I twirled my ring around my finger. I loved wearing this ring. It meant so much to me that he wanted to make such a promise to me. I then heard footsteps and looked up. I saw Wendy in the doorway. She gave me an excited wave.

"I'm so glad you're back." She said happily as she came in the office.

"Well partly back. I can't go back into the field until totally cleared by my doctor, but I'm feeling much better." I said happily.

"At least you're in the lab for now." She said. Her eyes then went to my ring. She grabbed my hand. "This is beautiful."

"It was a gift from Nick." I said joyfully. "It's like a promise ring."

"That's is so sweet." She said. I smiled as I looked down at it. "So things are obviously good?"

"They are great. Going to be even better soon." I said. I was so excited about the fact that Nick and I would finally be able to have sex again. This last month had driven me insane.

"Do tell." She said.

"I saw my doctor today. I'm not cleared to work in the field, but I am cleared to have sex. I've been dying. Nick refused to until I was cleared by my doctor. I know he was being cautious and trying to take care of me, but I was going nuts." I explained to her.

"I'm guessing the sex is good." She said.

"More than good." I then said.

"Congrats girl. You hit the ultimate jackpot. A great guy who cares for you and you get to have amazing sex." She said.

"Now I am just counting down the minutes until this shift is over." I said. I could only hope that Nick would want to after.

 _NICK_

I was in a pretty good mood. I couldn't wait for work to be done. Getting that text from Alex made me a little apprehensive, but excited. It'd been awhile and I knew she wanted to; she didn't keep it a secret at all. I couldn't help, but love her spirit and it didn't hurt that she was amazingly sexy. I looked down at my watch just hoping the minutes ticked by faster. Ray and I were walking through a hotel on the way to find who ran some private lingerie show. On this job I'd seen absolutely everything and so going into a lingerie show wasn't a big deal. I have to go into strip clubs constantly on this job and nothing phased me until now. As soon as we walked into the show there was a girl in a cheerleader outfit. I was already on edge from Alex's text and this was not helping. I couldn't help, but to be drawn to cheerleaders.

"Nick…Nick!" came Ray's voice.

"Sorry." I said taking a breath. "Cheerleaders are my weakness."

"I can tell." Ray said.

Walking around this show I'd lost count how many time I checked my watch. It seemed like being in here made time move slower. Ray and I had finally learned the reason behind the show. It wasn't the most conventional thing ever. I was pretty grateful when we left. I drove the truck back towards the lab. I looked at the clock again.

"Why have you been checking the clock constantly?" Ray then asked.

"I am itching for the shift to be over." I then said as we stopped at a red light.

"Well you don't seem tired." Ray said with a chuckle. "You seem quite wired."

"I am and that show didn't help at all." I said looking over at him. "Alex texted me that the doctor cleared her. We can have sex again. She has been wanting to for weeks, but I've been telling her to wait until the doctor says its ok. After she texted me it was like a relief and I was already anxious. Well that show made me more anxious and more on edge."

"I feel you brother." Ray said. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks man." I said laughing. I'd never been this wound up before. Alex had this affect over me that I was never going to shake.

 _ALEX_

The shift ended and I'd come across some interesting information through the gift from persons. Arriving at home I went to shower and change into something special. I knew Nick was going to be surprised. I couldn't wait for him to arrive at my place. I put a robe on and went into the kitchen to grab a little something to eat. While I waited I nibbled on a piece of toast. I was getting apprehensive, but so beyond ready for this. I heard keys at my door and moments later Nick walked inside. His eyes met mine immediately.

"Hey." I said happily as I stood from my chair.

"How was your first day back at work?" he asked me.

"Boring." I answered thinking of all the filing I got to do.

"I wanted to see you, but I was so busy." He said as he closed the door behind him and took off his jacket.

"It's alright. I've got a surprise for you." I said as I walked to him. I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his.

"Mmm I like surprises." He said smiling down at me. I could see it in his eyes.

"Alright wait here." I said to him. I went into the bedroom and took off my robe. I knew he would like what I wore under. I then walked out of the room. He was sitting in the couch and his eyes came straight to me. I grin developed on his lips. I knew he liked it. I then walked into the kitchen to grab the last thing I needed. I returned with pom poms in my hand. His eyes widened. "Well I got a little tip that you like cheerleaders and luckily in Vegas you can find almost anything at anytime."

I walked to him in my blue and white cheerleader lingerie I'd been able to buy as soon as I got off work. I went to the couch and immediately straddled myself above him. I looked down at him and smiled before pressing my lips to his. He then broke the kiss and looked up at me.

"Did Ray tell you?" he asked me. I'd run into Ray during my shift and he couldn't wait to tell me about Nick at the lingerie show. It was pretty funny and cute. He'd never told me about his cheerleader thing, but I knew right away that I wanted to play around with that. I knew he would be beyond surprised and I was right.

"Maybe…" I whispered. I brought my lips to his, but didn't kiss him. I simply whispered against his lips. "I'm not wearing any panties." That seemed to be all he needed. He quickly stood and lifted me with him. We were in my bedroom in seconds. I dropped my pom poms along the way I didn't think I'd need them anymore.

"You know you didn't have to do all of this." He said as he laid me on the bed. I watched as he took off his shirt and pants

"I didn't, but I knew you'd like it, which you obviously do." I said giving him a grin. He grinned down at me before he came down to the bed with me. He was above me just looking at me. I could see him analyzing my body with his eyes His ran a hand over my bare stomach. He stopped at one of the two new scars on my stomach. It was one of my three wounds. He looked at me with sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry." He said running his hand over the wound.

"Don't be." I said giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't be sorry." I reached my arms up and pulled him down to me. I placed a kiss on his lips. "Don't think about it. Please don't. I just want us to be normal tonight. No worries. Just you and I being together."

"I keep feeling like it's my fault." He said to me.

"It's not your fault. Don't keep thinking that way….please…I just want you to make love to me." I said looking him in his eyes. He looked at me before pressing his lips to mine. I allowed his tongue in my mouth. I wanted him so bad. I could feel the wanting throughout my entire body. I moaned in his mouth as his hand slipped up the short little shirt I was wearing. I felt his hand slide along my inner thigh. I opened my legs for him. I felt him smile against my lips.

"Slow down." He whispered. I let out a disappointed groan. He was making me wait more. He simply smiled as he wrapped his arms around my back and sat me up. He removed the sports bra like top I was wearing. He ran his hands down my sides. I was almost totally naked except for the tiny skirt. He planted kisses along my neck. I moaned at the feel of his lips on my skin. He started to kiss lower as I slowly lied me back down. He kissed along my collarbone and down towards one breast. He kissed until he reached my nipple. He planted one simple kiss here while one of his hands traveled to the other one. He slowly ran it between two of his fingers.

"Nick." I groaned out.

He then began to plant more kisses down my body. He stopped at my wounds and kissed them the most, but was as gentle as possible. He reached the top of the skirt. He took his hands and pulled the skirt up. As I had informed him I wasn't wearing anything underneath. His hands moved between my legs and spread them open. I bit down on my lip in anticipation of what was to come. The gentleness in which he touched me was nothing short of romantic. He kept everything slow and relaxed. I loved this about him. I grabbed the sheet as I felt his fingers enter me. I groaned out. He feeling of his fingers slowly moving was then accompanied by his tongue. I was breathing so hard I was panting. Every time his tongue hit that most sensitive area I would groan out. I was so close to that place and I think he knew it because he suddenly stopped. He'd told the truth that it would be worth the wait. This was all worth weeks of frustration. I then sat up and looked at him.

"Lie down." I said to him. He didn't protest. He simply lied down. I slyly grinned as I reached into the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a condom. I quickly ripped the package open and I put the condom on him. He grinned at me. I straddled myself above him and slide down onto him. He let out a moan as I started to grind my hips on his. His hand settled on my waist as I moved. My head instantly went back as feelings of pleasure took over my body. I was getting to that place again. Nick then pulled me to where I was under him. I moaned as he found his rhythm. He moved slow, but his speed started to pick up. He planted kisses along my neck . I gripped at his back hard. I hadn't realized that I was moaning out his name because I was so focused on the moment that I felt was coming quicly. "Oh God…NICK!" I yelled out my legs gripping him forcefully.

"I told you it would be worth the wait." He said looking down at me. He moved a strain of hair from my sweaty face. I allowed my legs to loosen from around him. He gave me a grin before he lied down next to me. I was out of breath and panting when I heard him mutter something. "Shit." He muttered. It didn't sound good. I instantly turned to him.

"What?" I asked.

"The condom broke." He said.

"Broke like now or before?" I questioned.

"It had to have been before." He said. My eyes widened.

"I'm not on any other birth control." I told him. "What if…" I trailed off.

"Yeah…" he then said. I was then overtaken by a multitude of emotions. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt. I knew from this moment there were options, but I wasn't sure which way to go. I turned to him. He pulled me close. "There is always a bigger chance you won't get pregnant."

"Yeah I know." I answered.

"We have options, but I'm not going to make the decisions. It's your body. I'm all for what you want." He said looking me directly in the eyes. I gave him a smile.

"There is the pill for an accident like this, but then we can wait and see. There is always the chance I won't, but then there is the chance I will. I'm leaning closer to wait and see. We can go from there." I said to him. I'd thought about children, but as life started to pass and I was now 32 and unmarried I figured that I wouldn't be a mom and I was okay with that, but then here was this. I loved him so much and I would be so happy to have his child, but at the same time I knew how irresponsible it would be. We'd only been together a couple months. I looked at him. He ran his hand over my cheek.

"If you are just know I'm never leaving your side." He said. "I promise."

"I love you." I whispered to him. He pressed his lips to mine.

"I love you too." He said.

 _NICK_

I never knew I could be so stressed. This entire week I was stressed beyond anything, but tried to hide it. I knew Alex was just as stressed. I never expected anything like this so early in our relationship. I knew I wanted kids and being a dad was at the top of my list of thing I wanted in life, but the possibility of it happening was daunting. I walked through the lab and found my way to Catherine's office. She was alone and at her desk. I knocked on the door.

"Hey come in." Catherine said giving me a smile. I walked in and closed the door behind me. "This seems serious." She said.

"It kind of is." I admitted as I took a seat. "I've been so stressed all week."

"I could tell something was up or bothering you." She said.

"Yeah… well Alex and I had sex and the condom broke. We both know there is only a small chance of her getting pregnant, but we can't help, but be stressed about it. I mean we've been together only two months. It's far too early to be having kids. I want kids and she says she wouldn't mind either, but it's starting to scare me." I explained to her.

"Well kids are always a gift even when they are accidental gifts." She said giving me a reassuring smile. I then smiled. I knew how much I wanted to have a baby with Alex. I already knew I wanted to spend my life with her. She was everything I could want and more and if she was the mother of my child that would be the cherry on top.

"Yeah…" I answered. I thought of that moment when I realized the condom broke. I was more excited than nervous, but as the week went on the nerves tried to over take my excitement.

"Do you think you guys would be ready?" she asked.

"I could only hope so. We wouldn't have a choice. It's frightening, but exciting at the same time." I said.

"Well you know whatever happens myself and the rest of the team are behind you." She said.

"I know. I've reminded Alex of that too." I said. There was a knock at the door. I could see Alex outside of the door. She gave me a smile. Catherine motioned for Alex to come on.

"Hey I've just been looking for Nick." Alex said sweetly.

"Yeah what's up?" I said to Alex.

"I was wondering if we could talk…alone." She said to me.

"You guys take my office. I need to go to DNA anyway." Catherine said. She gave both of us a smile as she stood from her desk. She left the office closing the door behind her.

"What's up baby?" I asked Alex who sat down next to me.

"Well we can stop worrying." She then said. I looked at her. "I started my period so I'm for sure not pregnant."

"That's great…I guess." I said feeling a small pang of disappointment. As stressed as I was hearing that she wasn't pregnant was hard to hear. I'd started to fantasize of the idea of being a father soon.

"Yeah I was a little disappointed too." She said giving me a smile. "But that gives us more time to get to know each other and find our medium. I made an appointment with my doctor to get some real birth control so we can be more protected for now. When the time is right for us we can stop and see what happens."

"You're right." I said as took her by the hand. She was right and I liked her plan. I then had a thought. It was one I'd been thinking for awhile now and after this I knew I wanted to do it. I looked at her. "Move in with me." I then said. She looked at me and blinked a few times.

"You are serious?" she questioned.

"Perfectly serious. I want to wake up with you everyday. I want us together at all times possible. I want my bathroom filled with your ridiculous beauty products and I want your feminine touch around my house. Move in with me."

"Ok." She answered giving me a grin. I couldn't help, but to pull her towards me and kiss her deeply. We both hadn't heard the door open, but we both heard the sound of a throat clearing. We both jumped and looked to see Ecklie standing in the doorway.


	10. The Goodbye

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER 10

 _ALEX_

I stood in the bathroom fixing my hair up into a high bun. I gave myself a look as I put my brush down. I looked over my shoulder to see Nick. He looked exhausted from working all night. I'd moved in with him officially. I really did love living with him even if it'd only been for a few days now. I still had some things to be moved from my apartment, but for the most part all of my major things were at his place. I walked to him and let out a sigh. He put his hands on my waist. I stood on my toes and gave him a quick kiss. He deepened the kiss and pulled me in tighter. I felt his hands slip down my wait and grab my butt. I let out a laugh.

"I should get going. It is my first day after all." I said to him. He looked at me and frowned. He hated this as much as I did. Since getting caught we were being forced to work separate shifts. I didn't see why it was needed because our relationship didn't get in the way of our work and everyone agreed, but Ecklie insisted upon it.

"It's unfair." He then said. I looked up at him and shrugged. It was unfair, but we couldn't do anything about it. I was being moved to dayshift and today was my first day. He let go of me and I stood there. "Have a good day."

"I will. You get some rest." I said to him as I walked from the bathroom with him following me. He grabbed me from behind and pulled me to him. I hated that I had to leave him.

"I love you." He whispered in my ear.

"I love you too." I said as I leaned my head over and kissed his arm. He turned me to him and he gave me a kiss before letting me go. I grabbed my things and gave him a simple wave before I left out of the front door.

It was so strange because I worked here, but I was having my first day with a new team of people. I was looking forward to meeting new people, but at the same time I really didn't want to. I really liked the people I was working with before and now everything was changing on me. I walked into the break-room after I put my things in my locker and found a tan skinned girl with long curly hair reading a book and a guy sitting at the table eating a cheeseburger. The guy finished his burger and looked up at me.

"You're the girl from grave. You're Stokes' girlfriend." He said.

"Yes, but I would rather be called by my name…Alex." I said. I hated when women were always linked to a man in a way. I was myself. I was Nick's girlfriend, but I wasn't just his girlfriend. I was my own person. I already didn't like this guy.

"Cool." Was all he said before he threw his trash away and left the room. I really didn't know what to think about him.

"Don't let Charlie get to you. He is a misogynist asshole anyway." The girl on the couch said. "Hi I'm Ronnie Lake." She said happily as she got off the couch and came to me. She presented her hand to mine to be shaken. I shook her hand.

"Alex Cook." I said giving her a smile. I knew I'd found my first friend on this shift.

I hated having to be out in the desert, but here I was with a couple of my new co-workers out in the desert at a crime scene. I walked around looking for anything that could be useful. I was sweating like a crazy person. It was such a hot day and being out here didn't help. I looked up to see Ronnie walking my way.

"Find anything?" she asked.

"Nothing." I answered. Truthfully I couldn't wait to be back in the cold air-conditioning of the car.

"Alright let's get out of here. I need a cold soda." Ronnie said.

"Girl I was thinking the same thing." I said to her. I heard my cell phone beep. I took it from my pocket and opened a text message. I smiled down at the message. At least we had cell phone and Nick and I could send messages back and forth, but it didn't make up for the fact that we were being forced to work separate shifts when we could be perfectly professional at work. It sucked that we had to be caught in that particular moment. Normally we barely touched at work and definitely didn't kiss, but it was a specific moment that happened to be the wrong one.

"The boyfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah. He just woke up. Normally I would be home too." I said with a sigh. This was going to take some time to get used to and it was more annoying due to the fact that I just moved in with him. We should be having mornings and afternoons in bed together, but that wasn't going to be the case.

"Yeah it really sucks they forced you into another shift, but hey you get to work with Will and I." she said happily pointing out Will who was shooing flies from around his face.

"That's true." I said giving her a smile. At least so far I got to work with some nice people.

I walked into the locker room to get my things. I went and pulled out my purse. I was ready to eat an early dinner with Nick and get to spend the couple hours we would at least have together before he had to work. I walked into the hall and there Nick was. I suddenly felt my heart sink. I knew that meant he was called in and I wouldn't be spending any time with him. I was going to be totally alone when going home. He looked at me and walked over. He pulled me close to him and gave me a rough kiss.

"Hey we can't do that." I said at once.

"We no longer work together." He then said before kissing me again. I melted into his arms. I loved the way he made me feel, but at the same time I was still disappointed.

"I guess you here means we aren't having dinner together." I said looking up at him with a frown.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." He said running his hand over my cheek.

"Not your fault." I simply said.

"I'll walk you to your car." He said as he took me by the hand.

As we walked it was hard to hide how disappointed I was that this would be our only face-to-face interaction before he came home and I headed back out. This was no way for us to live. How was our relationship going to survive this? We walked in silence hand in hand to my car. We stopped when we reached the driver's side door. He let go of my hand and placed his hand on my waist and pulled me close. I snuggled my head against his chest fighting the urge to cry. I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Hey I'll see you in the morning." He said. He was trying to be positive I could tell. I gave him a weak smile. I simply nodded. I was afraid to speak because I felt like I would burst into tears if I did. He bent down and pressed his lips to mine. He then pulled away and looked at me. His cell phone then started to ring. He pulled it from his pocket. "Stokes… yeah… ok…I'm coming."

"Guess you have to go." I then said.

"Yeah, but I will see you in the morning. We'll have breakfast before you go." He said pulling me much closer for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you too." I said giving him a quick kiss. He let go of me. I hated the feeling of him letting go. I unlocked my car and he opened my door allowing me to get inside before he then closed my door. I was going home alone. I didn't know how we were going to get used to this.

 _NICK_

On purpose I took off an hour earlier. These last few weeks of working separate shifts had been hard. Alex and I seemed to barely see one another. We would maybe get a little time here and there, but it was nothing like before. I felt like I saw her less since she moved in. I did my best to stay quiet as I started cooking a big breakfast. It was Alex's birthday and I wanted her to wake up to something special. Breakfast was nearly finished when I heard Alex's alarm clock. I knew she'd hear me soon. I picked up the small wrapped gift from the table and walked into the bedroom where I found Alex sitting up in our bed. She yawned and then gave me a smile.

"Happy Birthday." I said to her as I walked to her side of the bed and sat down on the edge. I bent down and gave her a kiss. I then handed her the small box. She looked up at me and smiled before she tore the paper from the now exposed little light blue box. Her eyes lit up as she saw the light blue box with white bow. She untied the bow and opened the box. Inside there was a sterling silver chained necklace with a simple amethyst stone for a pendant.

"It's beautiful and purple. Thank you." She said happily.

"I figured since your favorite color is purple." I said.

"It's perfect." She said happily. I then picked the necklace from the box. I climbed onto the bed and behind her. I put the necklace around her neck and clasped it at the back. I bent down and placed a simple kiss on her neck. I felt her shiver.

"I've got breakfast ready for you and another gift." I whispered in her ear purposely brushing my lips against her ear. She turned to face me.

"You don't have to give me anything else." She said sweetly.

"You don't want breakfast?" I questioned playfully.

"Of course I want breakfast." She said as she stood from the bed. I watched her walk into the bathroom. I left the bedroom and went back into the kitchen to make sure everything was perfect including the vase of perfectly purple hydrangeas I'd picked up just for her. I then heard her footsteps coming. I saw her come around into the dining room and she smiled as she saw the table. "You didn't have to do all of this."

"Of course I did." I said as I moved out her chair for her to sit. I loved being able to spoil her and make her feel special. She was special. She was everything to me and more. I always wanted her to know how special she was to me. I sat down in the chair next to her.

"I love the flowers. Hydrangeas are my favorite." She said.

"I know." I answered. "And I know you love to have fresh flowers around."

I watched her take a bite of bacon. She simply looked at me and smiled. I could tell I'd made her happy and that was all I aspired to do even in the small moments we were able to be together. It seemed as if our relationship was flawless partly because I felt like she was flawless. She was absolutely perfect and everything that I could want plus so much more.

"So your other gift." I then said.

"It's not the flowers?" she questioned.

"No it's not." I answered. She looked at me with a mixture of confusion and excitement on her face. "I've taken tonight off. So it will be the two of us all night from the moment you get home." Her face lit up. I don't think I'd ever seen her so excited.

"You're kidding me?" she asked at once.

"No not kidding." I answered. She literally jumped from her chair and onto me in my chair. I nearly fell backwards. I grabbed onto the table to keep the two of us from falling. She pressed her lips to mine. I could tell she was excited. I didn't even have to spend the $800 on the necklace because I'm sure she would have just been happy with knowing I was going to be home.

"Thank you so much!" she said happily.

"I made reservations for dinner and…" she quickly cut me off.

"Cancel them. I want to stay in. Just you and I." she said looking down at me.

"It's your birthday and if that is what you want I will cancel." I said.

"It is my birthday and that is for sure what I want." She said as she straddled her body above mine. I knew exactly how she wanted to spend her birthday evening and I wasn't going to protest it. I slid my hands up her legs and under her nightgown. She pressed her lips to mine. It was suddenly confortable to be wearing the jeans I was wearing as I continued to touch her. "You aren't wearing panties." I whispered against her lips.

"No." she said instantly with a smile against my lips. "Sorry you spend so much time on breakfast, but I won't be eating it. I want to spend the little time I have this morning doing something else." She said.

 _ALEX_

My eyes were shut tightly as my body rocked along with Nick's. My breathing was quick and I did my best to not moan loudly. He grabbed me tighter. I pressed my mouth against his shoulder in order to not scream out because every sensation felt so good. His hand gripped me with a deep fervor. I heard him groan. This was amazing for both of us. I pulled myself away from his shoulder for air. I took a deep breath.

"Don't stop." I moaned out. I wanted so much more though I knew it would be over soon as I could tell he was getting close to that point and so was I. It felt so good to be on the edge of it all. I felt like I was on the edge of calm and on the edge of insanity. I then felt that distinct click. I quickly pressed my mouth to this shoulder again to stifle my screams of desire. I was then panting as I looked up at him. He gave me a grin before kissing me quickly.

"We can't have sex in the car again." He then said as he grabbed his jeans from over the driver's side seat.

"You said that last time… and the time before that." I said with a smirk in his direction. It was one of those few moments we had together in passing. He'd been so busy that most days he wasn't home when I came home and he wasn't home when I left. Days like these we were just passing each other in the parking lot and we both wanted it just as bad.

"As soon as this Dr. Jekyll case is done and put to bed hopefully it will be quieter around here and we can get back to our normal." He said to me.

"Where are my panties?" I asked him as I looked around the backseat.

"Ummm I don't see them." He said also looking around. "There they are. Passenger seat." He pointed them out. I pulled myself off the backseat and leaned over to get my panties from the front seat. I then felt Nick smack my butt.

"Hey!" I said at once as I grabbed my panted and plopped back down in the backseat with him. I stuck my tongue at him as I slipped my panties on and pulled them up. I then grabbed my pants and put them on. "So our room is reserved for my cousin's wedding next week."

Nick and I were going up to San Francisco for my cousin's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and he was going to be my date. I was excited for him to meet more of my family plus it was an entire weekend that he and I would be away together without any work keeping us apart. I simply couldn't wait. It was so hard to not be excited about spending an entire weekend with my boyfriend and there would be no distractions.

"I'm excited." He said. I think he could feel my excitement radiating off me. I moved towards him and kissed him passionately. Today made four months of us being together. I'd enjoyed nearly ever moment of the last four months and I couldn't wait for more of them with him. I wanted not just months, but years with him. I wanted to be his wife and I wanted to have his children. I wanted everything with him. I fell in love with him more every day.

I looked out of the window hoping to see Nick pulling up. I looked at the clock. I was worried. He should have been home by now. We had a flight to catch and needed to get headed to the airport very soon. He'd been constantly working and I figured he was working until the last moment. I looked at my phone that remained silent. I looked at our bags that were waiting near the front door. I then saw a truck pull up and it was him. I could finally let my breath out because we weren't going to miss our flight if we left in the next few minutes. The front door opened and there he was.

"Hey baby." I said as he walked in. "We should get going to the airport."

"I can't come." He then said. I was confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can't. This case just got more interesting. Ray got a call from Nate Haskell who says he has information on the Jekyll case. Catherine is working to get Haskell brought to Vegas." Nick explained. My mouth was wide open I couldn't believe it.

"That's insane." I then said.

"Absolutely." He said with a sigh.

"But you took this weekend off." I said.

"I did, but I have to be here. The whole team needs to be in on this. I'm sorry." He said. I understood what he was saying, but at the same time I didn't. I felt the biggest wave of disappointment come over me. I'd been waiting so long for this day and for this weekend. He and I barely got time together and for once we would have an entire weekend together and now that was going to be no more. I turned away from him to hide the tears that were forming in my eyes. I took a deep breath.

"Ok then I guess I'm going…alone." I said as I walked past him. I don't know why I felt angry towards him because I knew none of it was his fault, but I was so angry. I felt his hand just tough my waist. I quickly moved away.

"Baby…please." He said. I could hear the eagerness and pain in his voice.

"No it's fine." I said at once turning to him. "I'll see you when I get back."

"I love you." He said looking at me.

"I love you too." I said back to him. My heart was sinking with every second. I picked up my bag. He went to grab it for me. "I've got it!" I snapped. I immediately felt bad for snapping at him. We'd never used any type of less than favorable tone with one another. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I understand you're upset. Me too." He said as he pulled me to him and he gave me a kiss. "Have a great weekend. Tell everyone I say hello."

"I will." I said to him. I opened the front door and walked outside with him behind me carrying my bag. He put my bag in the trunk of my car. I stood at the driver's side of the car. He walked over and pulled me close.

"See you Monday." He said.

"See you Monday." I said. This sucked, but I knew I was coming back and I would have him once more. We would have to make-up for this weekend another time when things were less crazy, but as long as I knew I had him in my life, I knew I would be all right.


	11. The Ending

MADE WHOLE

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 _ALEX_

I'd arrived in San Francisco after an hour and a half flight from Vegas. Going down the escalator into baggage claim I spotted my mom who was grinning up at me. As soon as I was down I walked to her and she pulled me into a big hug. I hadn't seen my mom in two months now since we'd both left Texas. She looked the same as always and happy to see me. It was always great to see my mom especially after I moved so far away. For my entire adult life until I moved to Vegas I'd always lived relatively close to my mom and now living in Vegas it was the farthest I'd ever lived from her and it was weird to be so far.

"Where's Nick?" she asked at once.

"He had to cancel. There is this big case and they just had a break in the case so he had to stay home to work." I explained. I still was feeling the sting of disappointment after he'd come home and told me he wouldn't be coming with me. As much as I hated it I was excited to see my family and my friends.

"Oh no that's too bad I know everyone was looking forward to meeting him." She said.

"Yeah I'm pretty bummed, but life goes on." I said with a shrug.

"So what are your plans for today?" my mom asked while we waited for my bag.

"Simone said something about going to the mall and then there is the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight." I said.

"Yeah I am supposed to be at the church in two hours to help decorate. I cannot wait until this wedding is over. Your damn cousin and her demands." My mom said rolling her eyes. I laughed. I was glad that I lived far away or I would be feeling the same as my mom.

I walked through the mall with Simone who was looking for something to wear to the wedding. Since Nick wasn't able to come she was now my new date. I sipped a smoothie as we walked around peeking into the shops. It was nice to be home after being gone for 5 months.

"Ooo we have to go in there." Simone said as we stopped in front of a lingerie store.

"New boyfriend?" I asked her.

"No we have to go in for you." She said as she pulled me by my arm and dragged me into the store.

"Hello how can I help you ladies?" the shopkeeper asked.

"My friend here just needs a few sexy things to wear for her boyfriend." Simone said giving me a grin.

"No I don't." I said to Simone.

"She's kidding. She knows he would love for her to come home from this trip with some new spicy things." Simone said.

"What is he into?" the shopkeeper asked. "Silk is big this season and we also have some nice crushed velvet things…"

I let out a sigh giving Simone a look. "He likes lace." I said.

"We have a lot of lace. Lace is a classic. I think all men like a little lace." The shopkeeper said. She started to grab a few things off the racks and hand them to me. "The fitting rooms are over there." Simone was also grabbing some things. She took what the shopkeeper had and dragged me towards the fitting rooms.

"I can't believe you brought me in here." I said to Simone.

"Hey it will be perfect for you guys." She said shoving some pieces at me.

"It's not like we need them. Our sex life is just fine." I said.

"Yeah, but you can always use a few pieces to change things up a bit so it doesn't get boring." Simone said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Believe me it's not boring." I said thinking about the last time we had sex which was in the shower one morning earlier in the week when I was getting ready for work.

"Whatever. I'm sure he will appreciate coming home to you in one of these." She said grinning. I rolled my eyes and went into the dressing room with the few pieces she'd already handed to me. I changed into the first one. Personally I didn't like it and it was uncomfortable and I'm sure he would hate it too. I changed into the next one. I liked this one. It was like a full nightgown that just covered my butt and was all see through white lace.

"Come out here let me see." Simone said. I rolled my eyes and slowly opened the curtain. "Woooo. He is going to love you in that. I doubt it will stay on you very long. Give me your phone. We are going to see him a pic."

"No way I'm not sexting my boyfriend." I said at once.

"Come on it will give him something to look forward to when you go back." She said. I went in the dressing room and pulled my phone from my purse and handed it to Simone. "You can't just stand there. Pose or something."

"Just take the picture." I said.

"Not until you pose. You want him to look forward to it don't you?" she said. I let out a groan and then leaned against the wall. "Perfect" she said as she snapped the picture. She then seemed to be texting.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Sending him a message with the picture." She said.

"Please don't." I said.

"Well it's sent." She said as she handed me back my phone. I looked at the message she sent.

"I can't believe you said that!" I said at once.

"Well it's sent. He is going to be itching for you to be home all weekend." She said giving me a wink. I rolled my eyes and closed the curtain.

 _NICK_

This day seemed like it would never end. I could only hope it would. I hated that everything had to go down this weekend. Alex I know was beyond disappointed that I couldn't go with her. It was definitely hard to find time together and this weekend was going to be one of the few times where we got a few days almost totally together and then I had to cancel on her. I poured myself what had to be my 5th or 6th cup of coffee today. I hadn't slept, but I needed to keep going. This hopefully was all going to be over soon. I sat down knowing I just needed a moment.

"Hey pour me a cup." Came Greg's voice as he walked into the break-room. I grabbed a mug and poured him a cup also. I think we were all pretty much running on coffee at this point.

"Here you go." I said as I handed him his cup. I walked to the table and sat down. I looked at the screen of my phone. I kept it set to a photo I'd taken one day of Alex while she was sleeping. She hated that I used that picture, but to me she was perfect in it.

"So you were supposed to be in San Francisco this weekend?" Greg questioned.

"Yeah with Alex. Her cousin is getting married tomorrow." I answered.

"Bummer you had to miss it." He said. I shrugged. I was more upset about losing a full weekend with Alex. I already missed her even though I knew she would only be gone for a few days. She was also so upset when she left. I hated to see her that way. This whole thing with her having to change shifts and then everything else was just getting to be complicated. I hated the complications. I wanted simplicity again and I knew Alex wanted it also. "I miss Alex around here with us."

"Yeah me too." I said. Things were so different without her. I hated to not have her working with us anymore. She'd brought something new to the group and now that something had been taken away from us and it pissed me off.

"So you guys are pretty serious. She moved in and all." He said. "How is it?"

"Yeah we are and it's as could as it could be for now." I answered. I loved that I had her with me when I could, but with us working separately I still felt like my house was empty most days because my days were spent without her.

"Do you think you'll marry her?" he then asked.

"I can only hope so." I said with a smile. Just then my phone beeped. I looked to see there was a text message from Alex. I opened it and got a shock. There she was looking amazing as she always did, but with a little something extra. She was wearing lingerie and the message she sent along with it was beyond suggestive. I shifted in my seat. I didn't know how I was now going to last these next couple days without her. I quickly sent her back a text about what I wanted to do to her when I saw her. I knew she would blush. I was already counting down the minutes for her to get back

 _ALEX_

As much as I missed Nick I was having a great time. I got to watch my cousin get married in a beautiful ceremony and now we were all dancing at the reception. I was having the best time with my family and Simone who had come with me in the place of Nick. My family seemed to have so many questions about Nick and they all seemed to be happy for me and that was all that mattered. I walked away from the dance floor and back to my table for a sip of water. I was thirsty after all the dancing.

I opened my clutch purse on the table and pulled out my cell phone. I'd been texting back and forth with Nick since Simone sent that text to him. I couldn't wait until tomorrow night when I would head back. He said if possible he would take the night off. I simply couldn't wait. Instead of getting a text from Nick I had about ten missed called from Catherine. I took my phone and walked out of the party hall and outside into the cool San Francisco air. I dialed Catherine's number and let it ring.

"Alex!" Catherine said at once as she answered the phone.

"Hi I just saw you called me a million times." I said.

"Yeah…umm… Alex, Nick was shot. He is in surgery now. I've already called his parents, but I knew you needed to know." She said. I couldn't and didn't believe what I was hearing. I leaned against a pillar to keep my balance because I felt like I was going to pass out. I had no words. "Alex are you there?"

"Yeah…" I then said. I could feel tears already falling. My heart was pounding. "I'm coming. I'm going to get my first flight I can get….I…." My back slid down the column and I was sitting on the ground crying hysterically.

"Alex." I could hear my name being called. It was Simone who had come outside. "Oh my god Alex….what's wrong?" she asked as she ran to me. I just held up my phone. Simone grabbed my phone. "Hello… Yeah I'm Alex's friend… He was what?... Ok… Yeah… I'll take care of her." Simone then ended the call.

"I need to get to Vegas." I said directly to Simone. "Oh God!" I cried out. I was a mess. I was so afraid he was going to die on me. There was no way I could lose him. I'd found my everything in him and I couldn't just end like this. Simone pulled me from the ground. "I need to go to the airport."

"Alright we will get you there." She said.

Sitting on the airplane I was shaking. I still wore my bright pink bridesmaid's dress. I needed to be there. I needed to know he was going to live. I could only hope and pray he would live. I hated that I'd been so far away. I should have been there. I needed to be there for him. Tears just flowed from my eyes as I looked out of the window. I could see the lights of the strip from out of the window. We were to be landing soon. I was shaking so hard the closer we got to landing. I closed my eyes for a moment and just imagined his face. I needed to feel him close to me. I'd been so lost until I met him and I wasn't going to just lose him this way.

As soon as the plane landed I ran straight to get a taxi to the hospital. Getting to the hospital I ran inside and up to where Catherine told me everyone was waiting. I saw them all sitting around when I stepped off the elevator. Everyone looked up at me with long faces and it worried me so much. I took a deep breath. I wasn't sure if I should be bracing for the worst news or not.

"Hey Alex." Catherine said.

"How is he?" I asked at once.

"He is out of surgery. One bullet nicked an artery near his heart. He bled a lot, but they were able to stop the bleeding. He is under surveillance for awhile to see how things go. My heart was beating quickly. Tears were falling from my eyes. In the moment I wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or tears of sorrow. In a way I suspected they were both because I was so happy that he was alive, but at the same time I hated that this even happened to him.

"The doctor is expecting him to recover." Sara then said. I just nodded. "And Ray too."

"Wait Ray was shot too?" I asked.

"No he was stabbed by Nate Haskell." Catherine said.

"What the hell happened tonight?" I asked.

"A lot." Catherine responded.

"Do you know if I can see Nick?" I then asked.

"They said it is up to his family, but his parents are on a plane right now. So I think we have to wait for them." Catherine said. I let out a disappointed sigh. I remember Nick telling me how he couldn't see me right away after my surgery when I was shot and how angry he was. I completely understood him now. I was angry because I just wanted to see his face and hold his hand.

A couple hours passed before Nick's parents arrived. I jumped up as soon as I saw them. Nick's mother pulled me into a hug. She then pulled away and looked at me. I could see her studying my dress.

"It looks like a bottle of Pepto Bismal exploded." She said. I instantly started to laugh. It was the first time I'd laughed since I got the news. It felt food to laugh. "So who do I need to talk to about us seeing our son." She said at once.

When I finally got to see him he was already awake. A weak smile came across his face when he saw me. I rushed to his side instantly and held his hand. We both didn't say anything as I sat in the chair next to his bed and just held his hand. I felt like all of the emotions I'd felt through the night had all bubbled up together and I started to cry. I placed my head on his bed and just cried. I felt his thumb start to stroke my cheek.

"Shh baby. I'm alright." He said weakly.

"I was so scared." I said to him. "I can't lose you." I said at once.

"You won't." he said looking down at me. I gave him a smile. I stood and then bent to press my lips to his. It felt good to have my lips against his. I then sat back down. "The first thing I thought about when I was shot was you. I thought about you and my parents. I thought about how much you meant to me and how my life had changed just having you with me. I love you so much."

"I love you too." I said to him giving him a weak smile through my tears that continued to fall. I knew for sure that my forever was with him. There would be nobody else. He held my hand tightly, but suddenly his grip started to loosen and the machines in his room started to go crazy. I jumped up. As soon as I jumped I saw his eyes were closed. The room filled with nurses and doctors. They pushed me out of the room. I stood outside just watching. I felt like I couldn't breathe. They were shouting things. One of the nurses pressed a button. A blue light outside of the room was flashing and then came an announcement.

"Code Blue room 446, Code Blue room 446." I saw the number on his door. My heart sank. His heart had stopped beating. He was essentially dead right there. I wanted to scream out, but there was nothing in me to do so. I just fell to the floor in a puddle of pink dress. I could then hear the doctor yelling.

"CLEAR!" I heard the charge of the paddle and the jump. "AGAIN...CLEAR!" The long BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP of the machine continued. "ONE MORE...COME ON DAMN IT...CLEAR!" the doctor yelled.


End file.
